The Chemical Industries Sector Education & Training Authority (CHIETA) is investing more than R4 million into doctoral and postdoctoral 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 Postdoctoral Fellow and a specialised short course for 20 beneficiaries drawn from chemical sector SMMEs, entrepreneurs and startups, helping 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 CEO Yershen Pillay (pictured), 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.”
He says 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 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 AELC, says meaningful partnerships between academia, industry and the 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 SETA has already backed a Green Hydrogen Centre of Specialisation established with the Mining Qualifications Authority and the Transport Sector Education & Training Authority, as well as 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.
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.