Decentralized renewables create as many jobs as central grid-based energy infrastructure in Africa, Asia; potential 5x multiplier for “productive use” jobs; offer women and youth skilled, middle-income work
ABUJA, NAIROBI, NEW DELHI, July 15, 2019 -- Today, the first annual jobs census measuring employment from decentralized renewables for rural electrification in Africa and Asia, Powering Jobs Census 2019: the Energy Access Workforce, was released by Power for All.
Supported by Schneider Electric Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation and timed to the United Nations review this year of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8, or Decent Work), the census provides the most comprehensive and granular data yet on energy access jobs created by decentralized renewable energy (DRE), which includes solar for home and business, green mini-grids and machinery for productive use such as irrigation pumps.
The census aims to spotlight the energy skills needed to achieve SDG 7 ─ access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. It surveyed three countries ─ India, Kenya and Nigeria ─ in its first year, and will expand data collection to 25 countries by 2021.
Overall employment data suggests that women and youth are the hardest impacted by the dearth of employment opportunities, particularly those in rural communities. According to the International Labour Organization, young men and women between the ages of 15 to 24 comprise 25% of the working-age population in India and over 34% in sub-Saharan Africa, with youth representing 10-20% of those unemployed. In fact Africa’s youth population is projected to double by 2050 to 840 million, and the African Development Bank has warned 100 million youth could go without work by 2030. Amid this challenge, however, the employment opportunity from delivering energy access to almost 1 billion people is emerging as a significant opportunity.
“Access to electricity means access to jobs,” said Dr. Rebekah Shirley, Power for All’s Chief Research Officer and census lead researcher. “The Powering Jobs census offers strong evidence of the important link between energy access and employment in countries where rural joblessness is at record highs. Policy-makers, donors and the private sector have an opportunity to increase support for decentralized renewables and build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce for the energy infrastructure of the future.”
According to the census findings, decentralized renewables are:
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A significant employer: although just beginning to scale, decentralized renewable energy companies already directly employ as many workers (i.e. 95,000 in India) as the traditional utility-scale power sector, and that number is expected to more than double on average by 2022-23.
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A rural jobs multiplier: in addition to direct, formal employment, the sector also accounts for up to 5 times as many jobs created through the productive use of energy (such as crop irrigation) in rural communities being electrified for the first time.
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Employing a highly skilled, middle-income workforce: DRE companies delivering electricity access create skilled jobs that largely fall within the middle-income range for their respective countries. Employee retention is also better than utility-scale power -- more than 2/3 of jobs are full-time and long-term.
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Engaging too few women: low participation of women in DRE sector -- only about 25% of the workforce -- is related to many broader socio-cultural challenges around gender stereotypes, recruitment biases, discriminatory business cultures, perceptions of gender roles and women’s representation in STEM education.
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Employing a large number of youth: the sector creates decent work for youth (currently representing 40% of all DRE jobs), which can be an important response to the growing challenge of youth unemployment in emerging economies.
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Experiencing major skill gaps: there is a growing shortage of job-ready talent to finance, develop, install, operate and market the sector. Management skills in particular represent a critical gap for unlocking further sectoral growth.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that off-grid renewables for energy access can create at least 4.5 million direct jobs by 2030, while GOGLA expects up to 1.3 million jobs by 2022 just from off-grid solar (excluding mini-grids). Yet today, sub-Saharan Africa has about 600 million people living without electricity and (excluding South Africa) only 227,000 people employed by the entire renewable energy sector ─ a tiny sliver, just 2%, of the global total of 11 million.
Commented Gilles Vermot Desroches, Chief Sustainability Officer, Schneider Electric, and General Delegate of the Schneider Electric Foundation: “Access to energy is a basic human right, that’s why we are committed to train 1 million underprivileged people in energy management by 2025. However, we know that we need to create a robust ecosystem that allows these communities – specifically youth and women – to find job opportunities. By empowering local populations to manage and maintain new energy technologies, economic activity can begin to thrive. A huge job creation opportunity exists provided that governments support the ability of local people to build skills and capacity.”
“Energy access is key to building a modern, more equitable economy,” said Suman Sureshbabu, Associate Director of The Rockefeller Foundation’s power initiative. “As the Powering Jobs census shows, growth of the decentralized renewable energy sector not only provides new, high-skilled jobs in countries with growing labor forces but improves equity by increasing economic opportunities for rural communities. When people can access affordable, reliable electricity that can be employed for productive purposes, they have the means to move up the income ladder, creating a virtuous cycle. With greater economic opportunities, rural communities can better afford electricity.”
For more information, please visit powerforall.org/poweringjobs
Additional media & content assets:
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A video created for the release of the Powering Jobs census is available here
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Sample social media posts, images and graphics can be found here
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A 2-page summary of the global census is also available for download
About Power for All
Power for All is a multi-stakeholder coalition campaigning to rapidly scale the deployment of decentralized renewable energy in order to achieve universal electricity access before 2030. Decentralized renewables -- including green mini-grids and solar systems designed for households, businesses and productive use appliances -- offer the fastest, most affordable and cleanest path to electricity access for all. Power for All brings together more than 250 business, finance, research and civil society organizations. powerforall.org
About Schneider Electric Foundation
In a world where social and environmental challenges are more widespread and more urgent than ever, the Schneider Electric Foundation supports innovative and forward-looking initiatives to give as many people as possible the energy they need to succeed. It is this pioneering spirit that the Schneider Electric Foundation is seeking to advance. We see our role as a catalyst for technological, social and entrepreneurial innovation helping to close the energy gap and striving for a more equitable energy transition around the world. Ever optimistic, the Schneider Electric Foundation's aim is to help build a fairer, lower-carbon society to give future generations the keys to transform our world. schneider-electric.com/en/about-us/sustainability/foundation/
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, policy and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power and economic mobility. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, the Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas and conversations. rockefellerfoundation.org