SOUTH AFRICA — At the 80th anniversary celebration of Aberdare Cables in Johannesburg, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, issued a firm directive to South African industry leaders: prioritize the creation of sustainable youth employment pathways. Letsike emphasized that the nation’s industrial growth must directly translate into accessible, meaningful opportunities for young job seekers, effectively bridging the critical divide between formal education and the workplace.
Highlighting the manufacturing company’s eight-decade legacy of innovation and resilience, Letsike acknowledged its foundational role in advancing South Africa’s infrastructure, mining, and telecommunications sectors. The business currently maintains production facilities across Gauteng, Pietermaritzburg, and Gqeberha, directly employing roughly 1,150 individuals while sustaining broader economic ecosystems and livelihoods through its supply chain.
Despite such corporate milestones, the Deputy Minister stressed that anniversaries must serve as a catalyst for forward-looking strategies. She pointed to a persistent labor market paradox: a high number of young people remain excluded from education, employment, and training, while businesses concurrently report significant challenges in sourcing candidates with requisite practical skills and workplace experience.
To dismantle this barrier, Letsike called for a concerted, collaborative effort to align classroom instruction with factory floor realities. She specifically championed graduates from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, noting that these institutions are vital pipelines for the artisans and technicians required by the national industrialisation agenda. However, she clarified that academic credentials alone are insufficient; graduates require mentorship, practical exposure, and an initial platform to demonstrate their competence.
The Deputy Minister outlined specific mechanisms for corporate intervention, urging firms to expand learnerships, apprenticeships, internships, and graduate placement initiatives. She encouraged active participation in the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme and collaboration with entities like the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator to identify and address emerging skills deficits in automation, digitalisation, advanced manufacturing, and the energy transition.
Illustrating successful public-sector alignment, Letsike referenced a targeted initiative by the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA). Through this partnership, 22 young women from rural areas in the Free State, North West, and Limpopo were dispatched to India for the Solar Mamas programme, gaining hands-on expertise in renewable energy installation, maintenance, design, and manufacturing.
Looking ahead, the Deputy Minister mandated the deliberate positioning of youth, women, and persons with disabilities within high-growth economic sectors. These include artificial intelligence, engineering, digital technology, and telecommunications. She warned that South Africa must cultivate a generation capable of designing, manufacturing, maintaining, and owning businesses within these value chains, rather than merely consuming imported technology. This vision is supported by the department’s ongoing coordination of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skills development to ensure meaningful digital economy participation.
Concluding her address, Letsike reminded corporate leaders that a certificate without an accompanying opportunity fails to transform a life. She challenged businesses to redefine their long-term legacy beyond market expansion and production metrics, urging them to measure success by the lives they elevate. The next 80 years of Aberdare Cables, she noted, should be characterized not just by its manufactured output, but by the human potential and opportunities it cultivates.
