On this International Youth Day, themed ‘Intergenerational Solidarity’, Power for All and Student Energy are pleased to announce their official partnership in the Student Energy Career Training (SECT) program supporting young people to start their careers in clean energy.
The SECT program bolsters intergenerational solidarity by connecting young people from diverse backgrounds directly to energy industry partners who share their experiences, provide mentorship, and support the next generation of the energy workforce.
Despite its immense potential for growth and innovation, the clean energy sector will face a dire shortage of talent in the coming years. At the same time, there are thousands of young people around the world who are deeply passionate about a just energy transition and have the potential to become leaders in the clean energy sector. However, they lack access to skills training programs, mentorship networks, and entry-level project experience needed to enter these careers.
The clean energy sector is therefore one field where active solidarity between established energy leaders and emerging young leaders has the potential to make a massive impact in accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future.
As a partner, Power for All will mentor and guide the incoming 2022 SECT cohort through learning about and addressing a real-world energy policy problem and providing hands-on experience for youth new to the field.
Powering Jobs Campaign
The partnership is part of Power for All’s Powering Jobs campaign which seeks to ensure that the needed skills and jobs in clean, distributed energy are created to achieve universal electricity access. This is by providing data and evidence on the employment potential of the DRE sector to support the creation of policies to improve energy access and create skilled jobs.
Estimates from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) suggested that as many as 4.5 million off-grid, renewable energy jobs could be created globally by 2030, accounting for more than one-sixth of the global renewable energy workforce, estimated to be 24 million by 2030.
The DRE sector creates decent work for youth. According to Power for All’s 2019 Powering Jobs census report, young people represented 40 percent of all DRE jobs in Kenya and India. Employing a large number of youth can be an important response to the growing challenge of youth unemployment in emerging economies. Stay tuned for the findings of the second Powering Jobs census that will be launched later this fall.
Call to Action
Applications to join the 2022 Student Energy Career Training cohort are currently open and interested youth have until August 19, 2022, to apply. The program is open to young people around the world aged 18-30 and from all academic and professional backgrounds. Beginning in September, the program will run a four-month course featuring core energy education and mentorship from Student Energy and expert energy organizations, including Power for All.
About Student Energy
Student Energy (SE) is a global youth-led organization empowering the next generation of leaders who are accelerating the transition to a sustainable and equitable energy future. We work with a network of 50,000 young people from over 120 countries. Student Energy collaborates with governments, companies, and organizations to facilitate meaningful youth engagement and mobilize resources to support youth-led energy solutions. Our alumni have gone on to develop and implement renewable energy technologies, run for political office, advise the United Nations, and work with the largest energy companies on the planet to push for a clean energy future.