Clean energy jobs rose to 35 million in the fossil fuel sector, representing a growth of 4.7 million in the last year, a 2023 World Energy Employment Report has stated.
According to the report, while fossil fuel employment has lagged, the remaining 1.3 million jobs are below their pre-pandemic levels of 32 million, with new jobs in construction and manufacturing accounting for over half of all energy employment.
It revealed that with a growing trend toward project-based approaches in many industries, a rising demand for skilled project managers was expected to increase significantly over the next decade.
This demand, it said, was contrasted by a shrinking workforce in many countries due to ageing populations and falling birth rates.
According to the Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, PMI, George Asamani, as more countries and corporations in the region commit to lowering emissions, the transition to clean energy is poised to boost employment opportunities significantly.
He noted: “Turning the vision into reality means lots of projects and lots of jobs. There’s abundant potential in Africa, which is home to 60 per cent of the top solar sites globally — yet contains just 1 per cent of solar PV capacity.”
The report stated that several countries were leading the renewable charge in Africa; adding that Senegal, “an unlikely renewable energy hotspot, with oil and gas driving its forecast 8.8 per cent Gross Domestic Product growth in 2024, is aiming to generate as much as 40 per cent clean energy by 2030”.
It disclosed that Ghana’s $2bn Ada Foah project was set to produce 1,000 megawatts of power by capturing tidal wave energy in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Even oil-rich Nigeria is calling for renewables to meet 60 per cent of the country’s energy demands by 2050. In South Africa, some 66GW of wind and solar projects are at various stages of development, with 18GW at an advanced stage,” the report.
