As a supporting response to the demand for specialised workforce skills in South Africa’s growing wind energy industry, as well as other industry sectors, Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental services, has established a technical training centre in Cape Town. The Sarens Academy specialises in skills training for onshore wind energy, renewable energy construction, and heavy lifting operations, with a strong focus on safety and technical excellence aligned with Global Wind Organization (GWO) standards.
Sarens Academy in Cape Town aims to bridge the gap between education and industry demands, creating a pathway for students to acquire high-quality globally accredited training.
As the workforce scales up to deliver on renewable energy targets, the demand for skilled wind technicians is growing globally. The GWO forecasts the wind sector (globally) will need a workforce of 532 000 technicians by 2028 – 40% of whom will be new recruits.
According to the Just Energy Transition Skilling for Employment Programme (JET SEP), the wind industry in South Africa will generate between 22 300 and 35 700 new jobs by 2030. This forecast for growth in employment in the sector comes at a time when the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025 points to an onshore wind generation capacity in the country of 34 000 MW by 2039. Such potential highlights the need for the country to develop a technically skilled workforce.
Alongside the wind energy sector driving job creation in South Africa, construction last year showed a net increase in jobs compared to 2024, according to figures from StatsSA in its Quarterly Labour Force Surveys. This represents a clear opportunity in the sector, which requires highly qualified personnel to undertake all kinds of projects. Recognising this, the Sarens Academy supports not only the wind energy industry but also serves other sectors that require safety training, offering all mandatory health and safety training for the construction, onshore, offshore, oil and gas, transport, and crane sectors.
A differentiating feature of the Sarens Academy, in addition to being part of the Sarens group with international experience in thousands of lifting and heavy transport engineering projects, is its multidisciplinary nature, covering crane operation, lifting, logistics, and wind energy, within an accredited framework.
In turn, the Sarens Academy provides access to accredited and internationally recognised technical training, which remains limited in Africa. Many countries still lack local facilities that comply with GWO and ISO standards or even local recognised accredited skills development programmes. This means workers often have to travel abroad to obtain certification. Sarens Academy fills this gap for students across Africa by offering world-class training locally, reducing costs and enabling faster workforce readiness for African projects.
Although the academy’s main market is South Africa, many of its students come to the GWO-accredited facilities in Cape Town to receive internationally recognised training, then return to their home countries to support local wind energy and heavy lifting projects. This model supports regional capacity building and cross-border knowledge transfer.
Although disparities between men and women continue to exist in the South African labour market, surveys show the differences are narrowing. Yet, there is still work to be done to reduce the differences in specific sectors that have always been dominated by men. In this context, the Sarens Academy promotes inclusive development, encouraging and promoting the inclusion of women and youth not yet employed.
For more information visit: https://www.sarens.com/
