From unemployment to innovation: Building South Africa’s digital workforce for inclusive growth.
Johannesburg, South Africa – 17 February 2026 – South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis remains one of the country’s most pressing structural challenges. With joblessness exceeding 60% among those aged 15–24, meaningful economic participation for young people increasingly depends on access to future-fit skills aligned with a rapidly digitising economy.
In his recent State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed that economic recovery, industrial expansion and competitiveness hinge on developing a skilled workforce capable of supporting growth sectors. Digital capability, in particular, has become a prerequisite for participation across industries.
Recent partnerships illustrate the scale and responsiveness of this approach. Collaborative initiatives with universities, training providers and innovation hubs have enrolled unemployed graduates and young people from township and rural communities into intensive programmes combining technical instruction, mentorship and workplace exposure. These interventions embed participants within innovation ecosystems, increasing both employment prospects and entrepreneurial potential.
Evidence suggests that demand-led skills programmes yield measurable outcomes. In several initiatives, the majority of participants transition into employment or income-generating opportunities after completion, particularly where training is paired with practical experience and employer engagement. Such results demonstrate that targeted skills investment can convert public funding into tangible economic participation.
“Our mandate is to ensure that skills development translates into real opportunities for South Africans,” says Matome Madibana, CEO of the Media, Information and Communication Technologies SETA. “By funding industry-aligned programmes in high-demand digital fields, we are enabling young people, especially those from underserved communities to participate meaningfully in the economy and contribute to national growth.”
However, the scale of the challenge remains substantial. While targeted programmes demonstrate strong impact at cohort level, millions of young South Africans remain excluded from formal economic participation. Expanding access to high-quality digital skills training alongside improved foundational education and infrastructure, will be essential to achieving inclusive growth.
As emphasised in the State of the Nation Address, building a capable workforce is central to South Africa’s long-term competitiveness. Skills development interventions that are evidence-based, industry-aligned and scalable can play a decisive role in unlocking growth, stimulating innovation and creating pathways into the labour market.
Madibana reinforced: “Empowering young people with relevant digital capabilities is therefore not merely a social imperative. It is an economic necessity, which is why the MICT SETA has made digital skills development a central pillar of its work”.
Transforming a generation from passive observers of technological change into active contributors to the digital economy will determine whether South Africa can fully realise the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Ends.
About MICT SETA
The Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA) is a public entity established in terms of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998). Its main role is to enrich industry skills set to meet the demands of rapidly changing economies, new technologies and to promote inclusive economic growth in South Africa within the Advertising, Film and Electronic Media, Electronics, Information Technology, and Telecommunications sub-sectors.
“Shaping Skills, Pioneering Industries, Empowering Futures”.
For media enquiries:
Xabiso Matshikiza | xabiso.matshikiza@mict.org.za |011 207 2626
Manager: Marketing and Communications
