Life Choices and GREEN Solar Academy are breaking ground with tangible results from their Solar Youth Academy. Their aim is to produce work-ready interns for the solar industry. At the beginning of May, 23 young people graduated from a specialised solar training programme at the Solar Youth Academy in Cape Town. This marked not only the graduation of this pilot group, followed by internships for each of them, but also solid proof that South Africa finally has a working and sustainable youth training programme with the potential to change lives. Over the next three years, the Solar Youth Academy will train 138 talented youngsters, and couple their training with quality work experience at a solar business in South Africa. This programme represents a commitment to turning ambitious ideas into transformative opportunities, ensuring that youth not only receive training, but also gain the hands-on experience needed to thrive in the solar sector.
The Solar Youth Academy in Cape Town is a private initiative and is the only facility in the country offering well-trained interns for the solar sector. The year-long training programme starts with eight weeks of on-site training, followed by 10 months in an internship at a host company, and ending in two weeks of final training and assessment back at Life Choices Academy. The initial eight-week course covers, through theory and practical modules, the skills that PV mounters need, paired with sessions to improve personal growth. Over the course of eight weeks, the solar interns mastered skills including tool and component handling, site preparation, how to install solar systems in a safe and efficient manner, and how to size, monitor and maintain PV systems.
Thus far, the pilot has been a great success, with all 23 candidates who enrolled on the programme now graduating. Furthermore, Life Choices has already secured internships for some of the graduates, thanks to GREEN Solar Academy’s #GREENetwork, an Africa-wide platform built to foster exchange and collaboration in the solar industry. Now they’re seeking host companies for the remainder of the pilot group, and also for the interns who will graduate in future cohorts.
Vuyo Ntlangu, programme manager of the Solar Youth Academy, is proud of this first cohort. “It has been an awesome experience to journey with young people from the disadvantaged communities of Cape Town to this point where we certify them as Solar PV Installer Assistants,” he says. “The change, growth and maturity we have witnessed has been phenomenal. After undergoing a rigorous solar training programme, we are comfortable to release them into the industry to support our government’s efforts to facilitate the just energy transition.”
When reflecting on her time on the course, top achiever Inam Mhlakaza, said: “Personally, this programme helped me so much. It got me away from troubles and instabilities at home. When I came here, I felt loved and supported – this has become my second family. Technically, it has helped me a lot too. I never knew about the solar industry, now it is so exciting. All the new developments in the industry have given me the drive to learn even more.”
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