The Project Management Institute (PMI) has cautioned that Africa’s ambition to lead in the global green energy transition may fail unless governments, development agencies, and private businesses commit to reskilling workers and building stronger project management capabilities. According to PMI’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, George Asamani, the continent faces a unique challenge: the need to decarbonise rapidly while still struggling to provide electricity to over 600 million people.
Asamani highlighted findings from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which estimates that while 13 million fossil-fuel jobs could disappear globally by 2030, the clean-energy sector will create about 30 million new roles. However, most of these opportunities are concentrated in regions already producing renewable energy technologies—leaving Africa at risk of being left behind unless proactive steps are taken to reskill its workforce.
“Without a deliberate plan for reskilling, Africa’s green shift could end up creating as many redundancies as green jobs,” Asamani said. He noted that countries such as South Africa face the toughest trade-offs, with tens of thousands of coal miners and power-plant workers at risk. These workers, he argued, could be retrained for roles in solar, wind, or hydropower projects, given their transferable skills in supervision, safety, and operations.
Across Africa, some nations are already taking action. In Nigeria, former oil and gas engineers are joining solar energy projects. Kenya is redeploying technicians from thermal plants into its expanding geothermal sector. Meanwhile, Rwanda, Morocco, and Ghana are retraining mining and fossil-energy workers for renewable projects, signaling a gradual but determined shift toward sustainable development.
According to the PMI Talent Gap Report (2025–2035), Sub-Saharan Africa will need up to 2.1 million additional project professionals by 2035—a 75% increase from current levels. However, the region’s education and training systems are lagging behind. PMI warns that this gap could lead to billions in wasted investments, with up to 10% of global project spending lost annually to poor performance. Asamani urged African governments to embed project management training into climate finance and just transition strategies. “If climate investments continue to outpace human investments, the gap between ambition and delivery will only widen,” he warned.
PMI said it is collaborating with governments, universities, and industry partners to strengthen Africa’s project delivery capabilities and integrate project management frameworks into major infrastructure programmes. Asamani emphasized that a successful green transition must go beyond funding—it must empower people. “By prioritising skills development alongside climate ambition, Africa can ensure its energy transition is not only visionary but viable,” he said.
source: punch