The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) is investing more than R4 million into doctoral and post doctoral research in Green Hydrogen through a partnership with the African Energy Leadership Centre (AELC) at Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand. The institution ranked number one in Africa in the 2026 Center for World University Rankings.
The investment will support one PhD candidate, one Post Doctoral Fellow and a specialised short course for 20 beneficiaries drawn from chemical sector SMMEs, entrepreneurs and start ups, helping to build the talent needed for South Africa’s Green Hydrogen Economy and Just Energy Transition.
South Africa’s greatest energy challenge isn’t technology. It’s talent. The country can build solar farms, produce Green Hydrogen and invest in new infrastructure, but without the scientists, engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs to drive it, the energy transition simply won’t happen.
South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap targets the production of 500 000 tonnes of Green Hydrogen a year by 2030, alongside the deployment of significant electrolysis capacity in the Northern Cape. Delivering on those targets will require a generation of researchers, process specialists and technical professionals the country has not yet produced.
Green Hydrogen is increasingly recognised as one of the world’s most promising clean energy solutions, with the potential to reduce emissions in sectors such as transport and agriculture, where cutting carbon emissions has been particularly challenging. Together, CHIETA and the AELC are investing in research, leadership development and future ready skills to help South Africa seize those opportunities.
For CHIETA Chief Executive Officer, Yershen Pillay, the conversation about skills needs to change.
“South Africa doesn’t have a skills gap as much as it has an experience gap. We need a workforce that is multi-skilled, adaptable and able to continuously upskill as industries evolve. Qualifications should do more than certify people. They should equip them to think differently, innovate and create opportunities for themselves and others.
We need a far more global mindset. We should be producing more digital transformation specialists, embedding data and artificial intelligence into how we teach and learn, and completely rethinking our curriculum. Most importantly, we should be encouraging young people not only to look for jobs, but to create them. That’s how we’ll build the industries of the future, including Green Hydrogen.”
Pillay said partnerships such as this are helping bridge the gap between education and industry by aligning research, training and practical skills around the capabilities South Africa will need in the decades ahead.
The collaboration combines advanced research with practical skills development, ensuring that emerging researchers, entrepreneurs and industry professionals are equipped to contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s evolving energy landscape.
Dr Steven Mathetsa, Senior Lecturer at the African Energy Leadership Centre, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, said meaningful partnerships between academia, industry and government are essential if South Africa is to unlock the full potential of the energy transition.
“As the energy landscape continues to evolve, the African Energy Leadership Centre continues to explore strategies to promote sustainable energy systems through teaching, learning and research across different energy value chains. Through partnerships such as this with CHIETA, we continue advocating for evidence-based policy development aimed at addressing energy poverty across the region.
“Green Hydrogen has become a strategic focus because it presents an important opportunity to decarbonise sectors such as transport and agriculture. Equally important is developing the skills, research and policy frameworks that will enable stakeholders, communities and industry to adopt these emerging technologies and support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.”
The partnership also aims to strengthen collaboration across Africa and the BRICS bloc, positioning South Africa as a regional leader in Green Hydrogen research while supporting knowledge sharing, innovation and skills development across the continent.
This is not CHIETA’s first commitment to Green Hydrogen. The Authority has already backed a Green Hydrogen Centre of Specialisation established with the Mining Qualifications Authority and the Transport Education Training Authority, and an industry integrated Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Training System implemented with Sasol at its Sasolburg operations. The Wits partnership extends that work from the workshop floor into advanced research and postgraduate leadership.
Every July, South Africans are challenged to give 67 minutes in honour of Nelson Mandela. CHIETA and Wits are making a longer term investment by building the skills, knowledge and opportunities that will keep giving long after Mandela Month has ended.
As South Africa builds a low carbon economy, CHIETA and Wits are betting on people as much as on technology. By connecting education, research and industry, the partnership is helping prepare South Africans for opportunities that will shape the economy of tomorrow.
Because if South Africa is serious about changing its future, perhaps the greatest act of service isn’t what happens in 67 minutes, but what we choose to build over the next 67 years.
