Skills Governance and the TVET Ecosystem: Pioneering Systemic Innovations for the Emerging Green Hydrogen Economy

The document proposes a shift in South Africa's TVET sector from a jobs-centric model to a 'wellbeing economy' framework to support the emerging green hydrogen (GH2) sector. It advocates for 'skills governance'—integrating foresight, planning, and anticipation—to address unemployment and inequality. Key recommendations include establishing a skills governance working group, creating green economy skills incubator hubs, adopting innovative financing like social impact bonds, and implementing a Universal Basic Dividend (UBD) to redistribute wealth from common resources used in GH2 projects.

• The document advocates for a transition from a traditional growth-focused economic model to a 'wellbeing economy' in the green hydrogen (GH2) sector, which prioritises human and planetary flourishing over mere job attainment and economic output.
• Skills governance is defined as a systemic 'operating system' that uses skills planning, foresight, and anticipation to help stakeholders respond to changing labour market demands and avoid skills mismatches.
• The TVET ecosystem should leverage incubator hubs as neutral environments for experimentation and prototyping to foster skills anticipation and develop a regenerative learning ecosystem for the GH2 economy.
• Current TVET funding is deemed inadequate to meet National Development Plan targets for enrolment and labour absorption, necessitating a shift toward innovative financing models such as social and development impact bonds.
• To address historical land ownership disparities and energy inequality in the renewable energy transition, the document proposes a Universal Basic Dividend (UBD) to redistribute revenues from common resources like land and water used in GH2 projects.
• The South African government aims to train 30,000 artisans and technicians by 2030 to meet industrial needs and combat youth unemployment.

APA

JENTEL, L., & CLOETE, D. (2024). Skills Governance and the TVET Ecosystem: Pioneering Systemic Innovations for the Emerging Green Hydrogen Economy. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SAIIA_PB_293_SkillsGovernanceTVET-corrected.pdf

Chicago

JENTEL, LETITIA, and DEON CLOETE. Skills Governance and the TVET Ecosystem: Pioneering Systemic Innovations for the Emerging Green Hydrogen Economy. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2024. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SAIIA_PB_293_SkillsGovernanceTVET-corrected.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=JENTEL |first1=LETITIA |last2=CLOETE |first2=DEON |title=Skills Governance and the TVET Ecosystem: Pioneering Systemic Innovations for the Emerging Green Hydrogen Economy |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2024 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SAIIA_PB_293_SkillsGovernanceTVET-corrected.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jentel2024skills, author = {JENTEL, LETITIA and CLOETE, DEON}, title = {{Skills Governance and the TVET Ecosystem: Pioneering Systemic Innovations for the Emerging Green Hydrogen Economy}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/SAIIA_PB_293_SkillsGovernanceTVET-corrected.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }