Transitioning away from a carbon-based economy in ways that are socially just and support social and sustainable development is a complex process. This process influences  the nature of current and future work, access to and structures labour markets and educational preparation for work.

While there is a huge amout of rhetoric about work changing due to the green transition, how work is changing, how actual labour processes and the organisation of work are shifting is largely unclear. 

In this study we use occupations as a unit of analysis, with which we attempt to develop a deeper understanding of how occupations in the solar and electric vehicle ‘sectors’ are transitioning, how is work changing, and what implications these changes have for VET provisioning. To develop deeper more nuanced insights on how work is changing,  In explaining work and labour process we draw on Guy Standing (2009), Guile and Unwin (2022), Gamble (2020) and Winch ) (2023). Standing  argues that work as occupation, is the integrative nature of productive and reproductive activity and hence provides opportunities to disrupt the status quo positions in organisation of work.  Gamble’s (2020) work on the labour process,  Guile’s and Unwin’s idea of the introduction of “intangible assets” and Winch’ work on expertise show that occupations lie outside any one individual and  have a shared and collective history that bestow identity and status on those who define themselves in occupational terms. Occupations  convey a sense of ‘wholeness’ – of belonging to an occupational family /community, and have both a hierarchical and a network dimension.  This means that rules of practice, learning processes, career progression and occupational  practices are governed by the collective history of  occupations (of families of occupations), and changing of occupational practices is a complex process that involves conflicting sets of interests and social dynamics.  

As occupations are not static they offer a useful lens to examine  dimensions of occupational change,  the types of skills responses required and the social interests that are invoked in the process of change.  This research is focused on the following ‘at risk’, ‘transitioning’ and ‘emerging occupations’ :

• At risk, transitioning and emerging occupations in the energy sector (e.g.  battery technician,  solar technician and installer)
• At risk, transitioning occupations in the electric vehicle diesel mechanic, electrician 
• Emerging occupations such as new climate adaptive jobs in fields such as water security, rehabilitation and restoration of land and landscapes.  These are emerging occupation  are often treated as ‘externalities’ to the mainstream market economy. Yet they are vital to inclusion in the just transition, climate change adaptation, sustainable development and human and planetary well-being in the face of climate change impacts. 

In each of these occupations we drew a mini case study of the labour process and the changes in the production process, brought about through technological change, management decisions about the division of labour, and shifts in product markets. Other  observed contextual factors such as climate, water and electricity shedding, required us  to draw  on sustainability research which then helped us to study each occupational case as a transformative niche. 

Method: Through desktop analysis, 30 semi structured interviews involving workers, managers and sector specialists and conducting workplace observations we developed mini-cases of transitioning occupations. Each of the cases was framed with the following dimensions, • Political Economy/Ecology of the transitioning occupation • Scope and change in occupational tasks • Field of knowledge required and shifts in the field of knowledge • Materials, tools and machining and changes • Goods and services produced and changes in purposes/role of occupation • Status of occupation (core, non-core, periphery) & level / changes This was followed by cross case work on observations in occupational dimensions.

Our analysis has highlighted that this is the level and type of empirical insights that are needed to meaningfully inform skills development to make full sense of the justice-centred inclusivity intentions of a just transition from a skills development perspective. To design coherent reskilling and upskilling strategies that do not focus randomly on qualifications design, we need nuanced and detailed occupational information. Some emerging insights include, many transitioning occupations indicate a movement towards electrical (often high voltage), electro-mechanical, and digital skills and this could come with labour attrition (due to digitalisation). Many technology-specific occupations, e.g. solar installer, can be traced back to specialisation of traditional occupation, e.g. electrician or electrical assistant with small changes in core knowledge and tasks. There is lots of uncertainty surrounding these occupations and their demand (e.g. electricians/solar installers and loadshedding, NEV skills and NEV adoption, whether petrol attendants are a part of future of EV charging in SA is unknown): Question of how to balance provision of priority skills with ensuring workers’ employability amidst uncertain JT developments (i.e. avoiding over-specialisation) Some emerging insights on reskilling under uncertain conditions was identified: -Skills overlap: Reskill and upskill into occupations which are attached to precursory qualifications for the relevant energy transition occupations. -Foundations and flexibility: we need to understand the core foundational knowledge needed in these occupations, its collective history to ensure reskilling programmes have strong foundations in existing occupations with a flexibility to adapt rapidly to new demands from the transition. Considering existing qualifications and curricula and revisions with a focus on most strategic directions for new emerging demand. -Redesign of educational programmes from within: for greater relevance and flexibility in key occupations that are in transition (e.g. mechanics ; electricians etc.) NOT a proposal for ‘add on short courses’

Gamble, J. (2020). ‘Occupation’, labour markets and qualification futures. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 74(2), 311–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2020.1760336 Standing, G (2009). Work after Globalization: Building Occupational Citizenship, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Guile, D., & Unwin, L. (2022). Expertise as a ‘capacity for action’: reframing vocational knowledge from the perspective of work. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 74(1), 31–49. Winch, C. (2023). Qualifications as Guarantees of Proficiency: Do We Understand Their Role? In J Glückler; C. Winch; A. M. Punstein (eds.) Professions and Proficiency (pp. 15-34) Cham: Springer International Publishing.