Government talks green jobs

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As the custodian of the Green Fund, the department will jointly host the dialogue with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on 9 April at the Development Bank of Southern Africa in Midrand.

Stakeholders are expected to present existing green jobs opportunities and challenges in the country in relation to youth unemployment; create a platform for sharing best international approaches to green jobs and to put the concept of green jobs in the South African context.

During the dialogue, insights will be shared on how to create an enabling environment for green jobs.

"Although South Africa has a clear perspective on its approach to transitioning towards a green economy, the approach to green jobs will be further explored during the dialogue, as best practices are deliberated on the day," said the department on Monday.

The department has to date successfully launched various green job projects, such as the 'Farming the Wild' project, a community based initiative to green the rural economy of the uPhongolo Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

The project aims to create green jobs and sustain two rural communities in that province through game farming initiatives.

The department has also launched the ground-breaking R300-million Groen Sebenza project on 8 June 2013.

The project is aimed at developing skills and bridging the gap between education and job opportunities in the biodiversity sector. It involves the placement of 800 unemployed youth in skilled jobs across public, private and non-governmental institutions in the local biodiversity sector for a period of two and a half years.