The World Economic Forum (WEF) expects the global labour market to create 170 million new jobs by 2030 while displacing 92 million, resulting in a net gain of 78 million roles. At the same time, 39% of workers’ core skills are expected to change, while employers are already battling serious skills shortages. That puts the focus squarely on whether education and training systems are keeping pace with the areas where employment is actually growing.
Predictably, these growth areas include artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, with big data specialist roles and AI and machine learning specialists among the fastest-growing occupations at 110% and 85% respectively. However, according to Leon Smalberger, CEO of the Academic Institute of Excellence (AIE), this raises an immediate question: are South Africa’s young people being equipped for the jobs that will actually be available?
“The opportunities are already there, but knowing where jobs are growing means little if young people are not equipped for them. Schools need to give learners the foundations needed to enter these fields, and higher education institutions need to produce graduates who can step into the workplace with the practical skills employers are actually looking for,” he says.
The need to address this challenge is pressing. South Africa continues to face high youth unemployment alongside reported shortages of skills in fields including engineering, cybersecurity, renewable energy, and healthcare. Smalberger says this points to a gap between the expertise the economy increasingly requires and the pathways available to young people seeking to build careers in those areas that must be addressed with urgency.
The problem starts before tertiary education
Obstacles to readiness emerge well before students enter university or college, with persistent weaknesses in foundational learning leading to real long-term disadvantages. For example, the 2025 matric results indicate that only 34% of candidates wrote mathematics, with most opting for mathematical literacy instead. However, mathematics remains a prerequisite for many science, technology, engineering, and commerce qualifications. As a result, fewer learners may be eligible for high-demand STEM careers and tertiary programmes.
“If we lose learners from mathematics and science early, tertiary education cannot simply repair the damage later. By that stage, many of the study and career pathways South Africa most urgently needs young people to pursue have already been closed off,” notes Smalberger.
The implementation gap
Government policy is already moving in the same direction as many of the shifts identified by the WEF. Coding and robotics are being introduced into the school curriculum, while South African learners are already proving their ability on the international stage through strong performance in global robotics competitions.
But access to quality STEM education and digital resources remains uneven, while tertiary institutions also face pressure to ensure that qualifications keep pace with changing workplace requirements. For Smalberger, this makes practical preparation particularly important.
“South Africa is not short of strategy documents that say the right things but often fail to move the needle. What matters now is whether learners can reach Grade 12 with sound academic grounding in the subjects they need to succeed at a tertiary level, and whether graduates can enter their first jobs able to turn what they have learned into practical value for employers from day one.”
He argues that education providers should place far greater weight on practical competence and employment outcomes alongside enrolment and qualification numbers. Students need to train on relevant equipment, gain meaningful workplace experience, and engage with employers during their studies. Private institutions can also expand training capacity in high-demand fields where the existing system is already under considerable pressure.
Preparing for the jobs that are coming
Higher education providers are responding by expanding into several of the WEF’s fastest-growing fields. AIE, for example, has recently added Bachelor of Information Technology degrees in software engineering, network and cybersecurity, and data science. It has broadened its engineering offering across mechatronic, industrial, and renewable energy engineering fields. Its dedicated School of Artisans also targets South Africa’s severe skilled-trades shortage.
Other universities, TVET colleges, and private providers are similarly expanding or adapting programmes as demand changes. Smalberger says this alignment between education and the labour market will become increasingly important as 2030 fast approaches.
“The learners who will fill these roles by 2030 are already sitting in classrooms today. That gives government, industry and education providers a relatively narrow window to make sure the routes from school into further education and ultimately into work are functioning properly. The real risk is that young South Africans continue struggling to find work while employers struggle to find people with the skills they need.”
