Cape Business News | March 24, 2025
The DLO Skills Initiative, which aims to ensure that African workforce, youth and women are not left behind in Just Energy's transition, will partner with Chinese renewable energy company Longyuan South Africa to provide 100 unemployed people at DE AAR with solar panel cleaning and maintenance training.
Over the course of three months, students acquired the basic skills and knowledge required to clean and maintain solar panels through both theoretical and practical training.
The unemployment rate among young people in the Northern Cape is currently 42,4%.
“The state has some of the country's first renewable energy plants and has the opportunity to do something beneficial to the community. For us, our goal is to see locals taking advantage of the various opportunities in the renewable energy sector: Mavena Olagunju.
De Aar has some of the largest renewable energy projects, including South Africa's largest 342MW solar power plant. “We have already attracted a lot of interest in students from different plants in the region, and we are confident that most people can use their learning to improve their future. During training, we ideally want to create more entrepreneurs in the region who will create more jobs.”
Cllr Gladwell Nkumbi, mayor of Emthanjeni Municipality, praised the initiative and said, “We welcome the work being done through the DLO Skills Initiative and its partners, China Longyuan and Power 1. Energy, but it is very important that people are trained to take advantage of opportunities in this sector.”
In addition to three months of training, the DLO Skills Initiative has established an alumni network to promote opportunities for peer support, information sharing and career advancement. The network serves as a platform for continuous learning and collaboration between graduates and industry experts.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
