By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
As the world moves towards renewable energy as the source of electricity, youths in Nigeria have been urged to explore skills in different aspects of renewable energy to get employed.
The call was made at the National Open Dialogue on Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan organised by SustyVibes with support of the Nigerian-German Hydrogen Office in Abuja.
Speaking at the event an Energy Transition Plan, Analyst, Somkele Ama-Kalu, said there is nothing that stops youth from channelling their expertise into renewable manufacturing.
Kalu stated that the plan does not clearly say what jobs opportunities are available, “but it prepares us for the eventuality because of the decline in oil and gas demand.”
“We have to think about what we do to repurpose those jobs that are lost. We are a youth led population, I think it is easy for us to grasp the basics when it comes to move from one job to another.”
He said as the world tilts to the uptake of renewable energy, there will be employment opportunities that comes as a result of that.
The Head of German/Nigeria Hydrogen Office, Gina Lagunes, said the sector would require engineers to scale up renewable to produce the green Hydrogen that the world will need.
“So, we will need a lot of people working on renewable like solar, wind turbines, geo thermal, small hydro power policy and market analyst. It will be a whole industry and we need a lot of labour for that”, he added.
Also speaking German Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria, Johannes Lehne, stated that young people with innovative ideas willing to start careers within the sector can go through its curriculum for training courses on various renewable energy.
“Whether you are an engineer, legal expert, finance expert, policy expert, project manager, communication expert, or still figuring out which path to take there is a place for you within the sector,” he said.
In a keynote speech, Mr Duke Benjamin, Cluster Coordinator at GIZ (the German Cooperation), stated that Nigeria has a large population predominantly made up of youth.
According to him, while this could be an advantage, it also presents the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure sustainable development, pointing out that the country remains highly dependent on fossil fuels and still deals with electricity shortage. READ ALSO:
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“Currently, renewable energy and energy efficiency are still underutilised in Nigeria. However, policy development has been encouraging with the introduction of various policies and plans such as the Energy Transition Plan”, he added
Benjamin recalled that in 2022, the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan was launched to chart the pathway for Nigeria’s ambitious plan of achieving net zero. He however noted that the Plan identified potential pathways for the country to achieve Net Zero within the energy sector by 2060 and focuses on reducing emissions while cooking.
