Africa’s Power Ambitions & Success Depend on a Skilled Workforce

By Cobus Van Schalkwyk, Managing Director, Rolls-Royce Solutions Africa:.

Across Africa, the lights are coming on—literally and figuratively. Industrial zones are expanding. Urban populations are booming. Power projects are rising from Kenya to the Cape. But behind this momentum lies a challenge few are discussing: who will build and maintain this future?

Power plants don’t run themselves. Microgrids don’t install themselves. Even the most advanced systems require skilled engineers to operate safely and efficiently. As Africa races to industrialise, decarbonise, and digitise, its biggest constraint isn’t technology—it’s talent.

According to the Engineers for Africa 2025 report, sub-Saharan Africa has fewer than seven engineers per 10,000 people, compared with a global average of over 50. In Burundi, there is one registered engineer per 825,000 people; in Uganda, one per 30,000; in Tanzania, one per 8,000. Even South Africa, the region’s industrial hub, is falling short. In 2023, it produced 32,141 engineering and science graduates—5,000 below target—and many lack the practical experience employers require.

Meeting Africa’s projected doubling of energy demand by 2030 will require over 610 GW of installed capacity, up from under 250 GW today. This growth hinges on an expanded workforce across electrical, mechanical, civil, and advanced technology disciplines. Renewable and hybrid projects could generate 3.3 million new jobs by the end of the decade, with nearly 40% requiring tertiary or technical training (FSD Africa, 2024). Yet fewer than 25% of university students pursue STEM fields (UNESCO, 2024).

South Africa is currently the only African country with full signatory status in the Washington Accord, a global framework recognising the equivalence of university engineering degrees across 25 countries, including the UK and USA. This allows South African-educated and trained engineers to be recognised by global corporations without requalification—and sets a benchmark for the continent. Expanding this recognition would complement the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), by enabling the freer movement of qualified talent across borders and boosting employer confidence in local skills.

At Rolls-Royce, we are committed to being part of the solution. Our new Power Systems regional facility in Johannesburg is more than an operations hub. It supports customers of our mtu products and solutions across Africa with everything from standalone and critical backup power generators to the high-performance engines that drive locomotives and the world’s largest mining trucks. It is also a centre for capacity building. Alongside assembling and servicing mtu power and propulsion systems, we deliver accredited training in borescope inspections, engine fault isolation, e-learning, and both line and base maintenance. We aim to cultivate engineering excellence that matches the performance of the technology we deliver.

Across Southern Africa, promising training initiatives are emerging to address critical skills gaps in transport, energy, and industrial sectors. Long-term apprenticeship programmes are preparing artisans such as welders, electricians, and fitters for national infrastructure projects, while bursaries in mechanical and transport engineering are helping to build a pipeline of future specialists. In the oil and gas sector, technical academies are delivering training across the full value chain, from exploration to downstream operations. These programmes—often developed in collaboration with vocational institutes and national skills authorities—demonstrate how industry can shape a workforce capable of supporting complex systems.

At the same time, industries are increasingly investing in digital readiness. Newly formed in-house academies and partnerships with universities are not only producing core industrial technicians but also launching AI and cybersecurity initiatives to prepare young people for the future of engineering. These efforts demonstrate that when the private sector leads with purpose, meaningful progress can be achieved.

Africa needs more graduate placements, stronger university–industry partnerships, and wider access to alternative learning pathways—from bootcamps and workshops to maker labs and apprenticeships. These models can rapidly equip people with market-ready skills, align training with evolving technologies, and accelerate delivery of the continent’s infrastructure, industrial, and energy ambitions.

The solutions are known. The models are tested. What’s missing is scale—and urgency.

We believe in training through hands-on experience.  The future of power isn’t just in megawatts, it’s in the hands of the people who make it possible.

Per Kind Favour of APO

Africa Fact: The ruined mosque in the Kenyan city of Gedi had a water purifier made of limestone for recycling water.