NAIROBI, Kenya, July 25 – Africa’s green economy has the potential of creating up to 3.3 million new direct green jobs on the continent by 2030, with the majority particularly in the renewable energy solar sector.
According to the ‘Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa’ latest report by FSD Africa and Shortlist, a talent and impact advisory firm, Kenya is predicted to create between 40,000 and 240,000 green jobs by 2030.
Significantly, it predicts that 60 percent of the employment generated by the green economy over the coming six years will be skilled or white collar in nature, with 10 percent comprising advanced jobs.
Further 30 percent are projected to be ‘specialized’, requiring certification or vocational training, and 20 percent will be administrative in emphasis.
Crucially, these job types tend to attract higher salaries and will, therefore, play a central role in spurring the growth of the middle class in countries hosting these high-growth sectors.
“This is the first public report that takes seriously the notion that human capital and talent is important as both an input to green economic growth, and as a positive outcome in the form of millions of new, direct jobs, “said Paul Breloff, CEO of Shortlist.
The report indicated that stability of the unskilled jobs created will offer ladders up the employment scale for candidates, whose employability will be enhanced by access to training and experience.
“There is a cross-sector effort across Africa to spur employment and sustainable development but stakeholders lack a shared, granular understanding of where the green jobs are going to come from. This report offers a methodology for forecasting green jobs which allows us to get practical about where we need to invest to make these jobs happen,” said Mark Napier, CEO of FSD Africa.
The study, which underscores the critical importance of a skilled workforce as an input accelerating African green industries, revealed that millions of jobs created in the green revolution will also contribute to the formalization of African economies and the inclusion of whole populations in stable systems of remuneration, social security, and taxation.
It also outlined key strategies required to cultivate Africa’s green jobs ecosystem, from targeted investments in high-potential sectors and value chains to the fostering of cross-sector collaboration among governments, the private sector, educational institutions, and investors to the development of comprehensive support policies for green sectors.
The report focused on 5 countries across the continent, including Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa, which together account for more than 22 percent of new jobs in key sectors such as renewable energy, e-mobility, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.
