81308340 - TVET Capacity Development for Just Transition, Employment Promotion Projects and Green Qualification

Project Description CPD4E South Africa has not been achieving the economic growth required over a number of years. Based on the recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS Q4 2023), the labour force participation rate remains at 60%. The official unemployment rate is 32.1%, equating to 7.8 million people. A particularly concerning issue is that many young people are neither participating in the labour market nor expanding their skill sets through education and training. Unemployment rates for youth aged 15-24 and 25-34 reached 59.4% and 39% respectively. Approximately 33% of the 10.2 million young people aged 15-24 were not engaged in employment, education, or training (NEET), marking a 0.6% decrease in Q4 2023 compared to Q4 2022. A significant difference can be seen in the gender-specific unemployment rates which is at 34.4% for women - 4.3 percentage points higher than for men (30.1%). Black women are particularly affected: 38.6% of black women are unemployed in comparison to 35.7% of black men. Additionally, the negative effects of the energy crisis are becoming apparent. A shortfall in electricity supply of around 4,000 - 6,000 megawatts, has led to ongoing nationwide controlled shutdown of the energy supply (load shedding). The country relies on coal as the main source of energy, as coal constitutes more than 60% of Eskom"s energy supply. The dominance of fossil fuel-based power within the South African electricity sector has resulted in Eskom becoming one of the most polluting utilities in the world. This occurs against a backdrop of a global climate crisis and increasing pressure to decarbonize economies in order to lower carbon emissions. Furthermore, South Africa is now faced with the difficult balancing act between expanding capacity to close the energy gap and shaping a just energy transition involving a highly indebted energy supplier. Investments from the private sector and suitable framework conditions, well-trained workers are needed to enable growth and the creation of jobs in relevant economic sectors. Due to the high level of youth unemployment, there is a strong need to also strengthen the transition from education and training to employment ("Transition from Learning to Earning") and to implement a reform both in terms of qualifications and job opportunities. In this process, qualification through education and training must be oriented on the needs of the labour market.? The project "Career Path Development for Employment" (CPD4E) is a German Technical Cooperation project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The project is implemented in partnership with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa and other relevant stakeholders. CPD4E aims to improve the employment prospects of young people in South Africa in low-carbon footprint economic sectors to support a Just Transition by applying an integrated approach to employment promotion. This involves integrating the following crucial dimensions through collaborative interventions with various stakeholders:? - Output 1: Improving framework conditions in the labour market through innovation and learning.? - Output 2: Providing labour market demand-side support, specifically in area of MSME business development and support.? - Output 3: Strengthening the supply-side of the labour market to improve the employability of young people in the country.? - Output4: Enhancing the employability of young people through targeted matching interventions to support better transitions from learning to earning?