The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) took the responsibility to host the roundtable on “Skills to Enable the Development of the Hydrogen Economy” as they are the responsible Department for the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system. In addition, DHET is currently working on finalising the country’s skill master plan, which will include the skills needed to enable the development of the hydrogen economy.
The purpose of the roundtable was to identify skills necessary for the hydrogen economy and ensure the availability of people with the appropriate knowledge, skills and attributes to support the growth and development of the hydrogen economy. The roundtable discussions that were held examined the skills needs and gaps. Furthermore, the DHET wanted to ensure that there was a common understanding in this area of work while building a community of practice and institutionalising the hydrogen economy in the work of the Department.
The roundtable also had presentations made by international partners, where lessons were exchanged of how other countries are preparing themselves in order to provide the skill set needed. One of the results will be a Hydrogen Learning Platform, a cooperation between Dutch and South African companies, to be launched in October 2023.
