17 May 2023: Shortlist and African Management Institute (AMI) announce the launch of the Energy Access Talent Initiative (EATI), a new £2.5 million collaboration dedicated to training and securing employment in the clean energy sector for over 1,600 African youth across sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative is focused on building a strong, diverse workforce of talented young professionals across Africa to expand access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
The new EATI programme is funded with UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform, and builds on the success of Shortlist and AMI’s Off-Grid Talent Initiative (OGTI), also backed by TEA, with support from the University of Cape Town. The OGTI programme ran from 2019-2021 and supported nearly 900 young professionals in over 100 energy companies across 23 African countries. The initiative had a 55% female participation rate with 94% of placements by Shortlist converting to permanent jobs, and 99% of participating companies in AMI’s management programmes reporting improved personnel performance.
“Education is no longer enough to guarantee a job; young people need on-the-job experience. Programs like this bridge the gap between education and real, career-track employment – and renewable energy and climate are poised to create more jobs on the continent than any other sector in the next decade,” said Paul Breloff, CEO of Shortlist.
Lack of skilled talent prepared to manage rapid growth is a significant barrier to scale in the emerging market clean energy sector – a huge, missed opportunity given the potential for Africa’s clean energy companies both to transform the continent’s climate future, and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for youth.
“AMI and Shortlist have pioneered a practical, proven and scalable solution to talent development for the clean energy sector. The renewed TEA funding will enable us to scale this approach to reach even more young professionals,” said Rebecca Harrison, Co-Founder and CEO of AMI. “We’ve replaced traditional, ineffective hit-and-run training with a coherent approach to upskilling and job placement that will equip and inspire the next generation of African talent to accelerate Africa’s just energy transition,” said Rebecca Harrison, Co-Founder and CEO of AMI.
Working together through EATI, Shortlist and AMI will take a deliberate, youth-centric and gender-equitable approach to upskilling and recruitment for clean energy companies. Shortlist will work with clean energy companies to identify talent gaps. It then addresses these labour shortages by raising awareness and excitement around emerging careers in clean energy through marketing campaigns, and then putting young people with little or no work experience into “last mile” on-the-job experiences”.
AMI will support young people placed by Shortlist with professional skills and work readiness training. The company will also offer practical leadership development programmes for emerging female leaders and middle managers already working in the sector, accelerating career growth and closing the talent gap, especially for under-represented young women.
“We are delighted to be supporting Shortlist and AMI on the next phase of their talent recruitment and training work following an impactful and well received first phase. In EATI, our partners have focussed more on supporting those most in need, increasing impact and value for money of UK aid and integrating their activity into the rest of the Transforming Energy Access programme to ensure that the results are more than the sum of its parts,” said David Aitken, TEA, Programme Director.
To learn more about the programmes visit the following links:
- Shortlist Energy Access Talent Initiative page: https://shortlist.net/talent-for-clean-energy/
- AMI’s Empowering Managers Programme (offered in English or French): https://www.africanmanagers.org/programmes/empowering-managers/
- AMI & University of Cape Town’s Future Female Leaders in Energy Programme: https://www.africanmanagers.org/future-female-leaders-in-energy/
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About the TEA Platform: Transforming Energy Access (TEA), funded by UK aid, is a research and innovation platform supporting the technologies, business models and skills needed to enable an inclusive clean energy transition. TEA works via partnerships to support emerging clean energy generation technologies, productive appliances, smart networks, energy storage and more. It increases access to clean, modern energy services for people and enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, improving their lives, creating jobs and boosting green economic opportunities.
About Shortlist: Shortlist is a talent matching and employability platform focused on two core offerings: Shortlist Search provides executive search services for leading startups and impact organizations in Africa, while our Shortlist Futures team designs and implements youth employment and apprenticeship programs across Africa in partnership with donors, governments, enterprises, and education institutions. These programs span several sectors including off-grid energy, climate technology and digital jobs, and are often paired with a research component to drive further awareness and insights into critical talent needs. Since launching in 2015, Shortlist has worked with over 900 employers globally, placed over 4,000 candidates into jobs in over 30 countries, and screened over 1.5 million candidates. Shortlist is a global team of 45 people, including 40 recruiters, merging best in class recruitment services with technology built-for-purpose in Kenya.
About African Management Institute: AMI enables ambitious businesses and leaders across Africa to thrive, through practical tools and training. We equip leaders with tools to build their business, help companies train their teams and run work readiness programmes for young people starting their careers. AMI’s programmes combine online and mobile tools with interactive experiential workshops and on-the-job practice and support. AMI has trained over 42,000 people in over 39 countries and has offices in Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa, with additional presence in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Cote’ d’Ivoire. For more information, visit: https://www.africanmanagers.org/.
