Staff Reporter

THE Department of Higher Education and Training, under Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande, said it is aware of green hydrogen’s vast opportunities.

The deputy director general in charge of skills for the DHET, Zukile Mvalo, participated in a roundtable on Monday in Sandton titled “Green Hydrogen: Opportunities and Challenges En Route to a Sustainable Future.”

Hosted by Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (NCIB) and the Chemical Industries Education & Training Authority (CHIETA) on Monday, Mvalo said the government was making great strides to harness the sector in terms of skills and training for the opportunities in South Africa’s dynamic green hydrogen landscape.

He said because green hydrogen has profound economic and social implications, including job creation, skills development, and the fostering of new industries, Minister Nzimande launched several Labour Market Intelligence reports last month on the Skills Needs for the Economy and the Identification of Skills Needed for the Hydrogen Economy. One focused on the hydrogen sector, underscoring its critical importance to the economy and job creation.

South Africa is exploring the potential for green hydrogen as an energy source to meet the country’s net-zero ambitions and stimulate economic growth.

The research has predicted that South Africa will deploy at least 15 gigawatts of electrolysis to produce 500 kilotonnes of green hydrogen annually for use in the transportation, built environment, industrial, and power sectors, creating approximately 30,000 jobs by 2040.

“It indicates that we have our work cut out for ourselves, particularly CHIETA, as the report maps out the skills supply and demand in the hydrogen economy,” Mvalo said.

This means that the current hydrogen skills market needs to be expanded, especially in the chemical industry, where engineers and industry skills are urgently needed.

“Skills development is integral to the hydrogen economy. When employed in a job that does not match their skills profile, they are mismatched to their job. This cannot be overcome by increasing the number of graduates.

“On-the-job training and retraining are also needed. There must be a review of curriculum changes to include specific requirements for the green hydrogen economy,” he said.

Current qualifications, programmes and curricula offered in SA do not boast any hydrogen-related qualifications or programmes offered at the undergraduate level.

A few local higher education institutes have introduced hydrogen-related topics in their institutions, with research focusing on fuel cell innovation, green hydrogen production, and storage and distribution qualifications. However, overall, hydrogen qualifications are missing in SA institutions.

The increase in the production of green hydrogen will lead to an increased demand for artisans and technicians. As part of the training, the DHET has considered National Certificate (Vocational) (NC[V]), NATED and Occupational Qualifications.

Here, we have identified (mainly engineering) which can help foundational knowledge and skills necessary to support the hydrogen economy in SA.

“Globally and locally, there is a shortage of human resources with the requisite knowledge, skills, and industry experience to impart to students at schools, CETs, TVETs, and universities,” he said.

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Johnathan Paoli

MEC for Education in Gauteng Matome Chiloane has expressed his shock over the recent peak in learner suicides at Eqinisweni secondary school in Ivory Park.

Speaking on Monday evening, the Education MEC said the loss of lives, especially among the youth, remained a growing concern for the department and that a psycho-social support unit has been dispatched to the school to assist with counselling.

“It is indeed heart-wrenching to witness the loss of young lives. We extend our deepest condolences to the families affected by their passing,” Chiloane said.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that four pupils – three girls and one boy – allegedly consumed poison and died shortly after being transported to hospital between 26 April and 5 May. The pupils were in Grades 10 and Matric.

Chiloane praised the work done by the department in conjunction with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in light of the rise in suicides.

“It should be noted that our partnership with SADAG has yielded positive results in Tsakane, where we previously had a similar slew of unfortunate learner suicides. As such, the department commits to continuing with this partnership and conduct learner mental health roadshows to affected schools,” Chiloane said.

In an unrelated incident, a woman teacher from Thuto-Lore Secondary School in Sharpeville was allegedly found dead on Saturday, at Dlomo Dam, near her residence.

“This raises serious concerns around the safety of female educators in the community. We plead with law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in apprehending the suspects, and we also convey our sincerest condolences to the school and bereaved family,” Chiloane said.

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Sports Correspondent

At first, he cared mostly for sports – now it’s human rights. UP diversity and inclusion specialist Tumelo “Duke” Rasebopye has graduated with a master’s specialising in leadership and gender equality.

Tumelo “Duke” Rasebopye might not have started his tertiary education as a model student, but he has certainly come full circle.

Rasebopye, who was promoted to the position of diversity and inclusion specialist at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Transformation Office in January, graduated on 25 April 2024 with a master’s in Development Practice, and reckons he will continue with a PhD.

Yet when he finished school, he didn’t qualify to study towards a degree at university.

Without the required bachelor’s pass, formerly known as a matric exemption, it took Rasebopye two years before he was accepted at UP.

First he did a certificate in management principles and another in business basics at Varsity College and the University of South Africa (Unisa). Then, using those qualifications to leverage entrance into a degree, he registered for law at Unisa.

When he was accepted at UP for the following year – and initially being told that he wouldn’t get any credits for his studies – he decided it didn’t make financial sense to continue. Plus, it was 2010, and the FIFA World Cup was taking place in South Africa, and Rasebopye was more than happy to devote himself to that.

A sports lover, Rasebopye says it was his interest in sport that resulted in his poor matric marks in the first place. At school, he did cross-country, soccer, cricket, middle-distance athletics and “whatever sport there was”.

By the time he applied himself to his studies, it was too late.

“I also think that varsity wasn’t a real aspiration until I wanted it,” he says. Then FOMO (fear of missing out) made him decide it might be a good idea.

UP was his first choice. Although home was technically Johannesburg, he went to high school at Hatfield Christian School in Pretoria. Also, his sister, Bontle, works at the University of Witwatersrand and he didn’t want him to crowd her space. More than that, however, he is enamoured with the capital city.

“I just love Pretoria,” he says. “It’s truly a fantastic place to be. In every way. The people are among the best in this country – definitely among the top tier on the continent.”

Yet after almost not making it into university, from the moment he stepped onto campus, he made activism his priority. While not neglecting his studies – he graduated with a BSocSci in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies in record time, doing well enough to do honours in Development Studies, and now master’s – he soon became involved with what was then the Centre for the Study of AIDS, now the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender (CSA&G).

A conversation in one of his first lectures sparked his interest.

“I was in a politics class, and one of my colleagues said she was volunteering at the centre, where they do training and capacitation,” Rasebopye says.

He recalls attending a relative’s funeral, where there was “a bit of a hush”, he says, about the cause of death, later speculated to be an HIV/AIDS-related illness.

So he asked his friend to show him where the centre was, which she did straight after class. “And I got involved from there,” he says.

Rasebopye chose to become an HIV testing peer counselor, a volunteer position he

fulfilled for seven years.

“It segued into being asked to assist in curating a student leadership and advocacy programme,” he explains. “I jumped on that opportunity. And the programme I was later project managing, the Just Leaders project, is still going today. That’s how I grew into my stride.”

By 2015, he was Chairperson of the South African Students’ Congress and a member of UP’s Student Representative Council. An active leader of the #FeesMustFall student movement, he was quoted extensively in a UP master’s thesis as one of five “high-profile students” who were all outspoken student leaders during the movement from around the country. It was a pivotal time.

Rasebopye’s Facebook profile page shows a photo of protesting students, some sitting on the roof of the Student Centre. He still remembers the day, 23 October 2015, they went to the Union Buildings as part of the #FeesMustFall protest.

“Tear gas and rubber bullets started flying,” he recalls. “It was unwarranted and caused one to consider how we think about developing ethical leadership because, on that particular day, there was a lot that was not ethical”.

Leadership is a hot topic for Rasebopye. His master’s thesis, supervised by Dr Yolande Steenkamp, looked at the pursuit between leadership and achieving gender equality within the higher education sector, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The topic, as well as his job, shows how his activism has matured and morphed with his studies, and progressed into full-time work at UP.

But at heart, nothing has changed. Rasebopye is still a walking symbol of transformation and human rights, as shown by the #SpeakOutUP T-shirt and “Are we safe?” cap he is wearing on the day of our interview, two university campaigns he has been involved in.

And his advocacy continues. He’s been asked to join the steering committee of the National Youth Coalition, which promotes the development of ethical and transformative youth leaders. And he is the National Chairperson of the Gender Practitioners’ Community of Practice in all 26 public South African universities.

He has strong views on transformation. While many might see it as changing the racial profile of, say, a sports team, he explains why it is so much more.

“We often confuse access and inclusion. We tend to think that if we get people into the room or onto a team, then we are doing transformation work. But it can easily become a box-ticking exercise.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that when someone enters the space, they’ll be respected, affirmed or acknowledged, or that they will be embraced and integrated into the day-to-day interactions within the organisation. That’s what we mean by inclusivity.”

He adds that he is “invested in the university” and regularly envisions it as a transformed institution. “So it’s quite a blessing that I do the work that I do, at this institution that I’ve poured so much into.”

One thing that has lapsed is his active participation in sport, and his coaching, which saw his soccer team in Brooklyn winning the regional league. Now it’s working out at home, the occasional seven-a-side football game with friends, and a lot of hiking, which is “a great way to catch up with friends, especially when we all have busy schedules”, he says.

But he says that motorbike riding is the most fun and adventurous thing he does.

“The transport part is secondary—the primary part is the excitement and joy of being able to travel somewhere on a full tank and see new places. Roads that I’ve traveled by car many times are always different when I travel on a bike.

“It’s the smells and the temperatures shifting at different points. It’s a great way to explore and experience life.”

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