Request for Information for USAID Southern Africa to Strengthen Sustainable Skills for a Just Transition Activity Design | 72067424RFI00006

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USAID/Southern Africa has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather input that will help shape the design of a new skills development activity called Sustainable Skills for a Just Transition (SS4JT). This is not a traditional grant solicitation announcing funding amounts or requesting full proposals; instead, it is an information-gathering step meant to inform how USAID structures a future activity. The overall purpose is to better connect South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates to real employment opportunities, especially in communities and industries affected by the shift away from coal and toward cleaner energy.

The SS4JT concept is centered on Mpumalanga, a province that has been closely tied to coal-related economic activity and is therefore at the heart of South Africa's broader “Just Energy Transition” discussions. USAID signals that the activity should support innovative, specialized training programs for green occupations, but with an important emphasis: the focus is on green jobs in non-energy sectors, along with the entrepreneurial skills needed to create or grow businesses that fit a diversifying economy. In practice, this points to skills and career pathways that can absorb both young people entering the labor market and workers who may be displaced as coal-linked jobs decline, while also strengthening local economic resilience beyond a single industry.

A key theme is alignment with, but also expansion beyond, the Government of South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) Investment Plan, specifically its skills-related priorities. USAID indicates that it wants to co-design an activity that responds to that national plan while also broadening the scope to strengthen the TVET system itself. That includes improving the skills development pipeline and building institutional capacity at TVET colleges so they can continuously adjust to evolving labor market needs. The underlying idea is that the transition will not be a one-time shift; qualifications, technologies, and employer demands will keep changing, so the training ecosystem must be adaptable and capable of updating programs over time.

The intended results described in the RFI go beyond training delivery. USAID is looking at how TVET graduates actually move into jobs, suggesting a strong interest in job placement linkages, employer partnerships, work-integrated learning models, and other mechanisms that reduce the gap between graduating and earning income. The activity is also framed as supporting economic diversification in Mpumalanga, meaning training programs should connect to sectors that can realistically grow in the region and offer sustainable livelihoods. At the same time, USAID highlights quality-of-life improvements and job creation in communities most affected by the energy transition, reinforcing the “just transition” principle that economic and social costs should not fall disproportionately on workers and towns dependent on coal.

From the opportunity listing details, the issuing office is USAID South Africa (Pretoria), and the posting is categorized under Education with an “Other” instrument type and “Other” opportunity category, which fits an RFI rather than a grant competition. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, indicating that a broad range of organizations and stakeholders could provide information, such as training providers, employers, industry bodies, NGOs, workforce development specialists, and others with relevant expertise. The RFI closing date was April 8, 2024, and the listing shows an expected number of awards as one and an award ceiling of zero, both of which are consistent with an RFI stage where USAID is not yet committing to funding or issuing multiple awards.

In short, USAID/Southern Africa is collecting market and stakeholder input to design a future workforce and systems-strengthening effort in Mpumalanga that helps TVET institutions deliver relevant, future-facing skills, expands green and diversified employment pathways outside the energy sector, supports entrepreneurship, and enables youth and transitioning coal workers to navigate a changing skills and qualifications landscape while maintaining momentum in their careers.

• The South Africa USAID-Pretoria in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information for USAID Southern Africa to Strengthen Sustainable Skills for a Just Transition Activity Design" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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