Midterm Youth Solar training & placement report for South Africa

Quality youth training that leads to actual jobs

We all agree: youth training matters.

Our view? It’s not just important, it’s an industry responsibility. And not just that it happens, but that it’s done properly: with real skills, real pathways into the sector, and real support.

Here’s a snapshot of how we’re making that happen:

📍In Johannesburg  |  📍In Ghana  |  📍In Cape Town

We all agree: youth training matters.

Our view? It’s not just important, it’s an industry responsibility. And not just that it happens, but that it’s done properly: with real skills, real pathways into the sector, and real support.

Here’s a snapshot of how we’re making that happen:

In Johannesburg  |  In Ghana  |  In Cape Town

📍Johannesburg

PV Mounter PLUS

We delivered our 5-day PV Mounter PLUS course as part of a broader youth training initiative in Alexandra. The course is an expanded version of our accredited PV Mounter training and offers hands-on experience in rooftop installation, wiring, site planning, and inverter setup.

In partnership with: Unnati, Yellow Door Energy, and Actis
Youth trained: 26

📍Ghana

Solar Training Centre at Takoradi Technical University

We developed a 3-week PV Planner Course, trained lecturers from TTU to be able to teach the content of the course and helped TTU to set up its own Solar Training Centre equipped with premium components. The Solar Training Centre continues to offer the PV Planner Course on a regular basis.

In partnership with: GIZ, Renewable Energy Skills Development (RESD) project
Youth trained: 290 engineering graduates trained since 2022
Training status: Ongoing

📍Cape Town

Solar Youth Academy

In Cape Town, we have a permanent year-long youth training programme for TVET students. The training was delivered in collaboration with the solar industry and combines eLearning, solar theory, practical solar instruction with personal and professional development coaching. A 10-month structured internship with a solar company follows. Cohort 1 has completed the entire cycle, Cohort 2 is currently entering internships, and Cohort 3 will be welcomed into the fold later this year.

In partnership with: Life Choices
Youth trained: 47
Youth placed in internships: 33
Training status: Ongoing

Want to see more? There is more! We’ve also:

  • Coordinated and conducted the PV GreenCard Assessment for 126 participants from 5 TVET colleges on behalf of GIZ
  • Developed and conducted a 2-month solar training programme for 80 youths from Alexandra on behalf of Youth Employment Services (YES)
  • Trained 100 unemployed young people across three provinces over the course of a year on behalf of KP Cares

Work with us on youth training!