Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has warned that South Africa's education system is failing to transition young people into work, leaving 3.4 million young people out of employment, education or training.
Speaking at the Inside Education Summit at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Manamela said the country was facing structural failure rather than a simple unemployment problem.
He said, “Our crisis is not just unemployment. It is a crisis of roads.” He said the system was not effectively taking youth “from learning to earning”.
He described the education system as a “pipeline” that is leaking at many points, from early childhood development to post-school training and entry into the labor market.
Manmela said the mismatch between training and economic demand is evident in the shortage of artisans in the country. The economy requires about 30,000 artisans annually, but only about 20,000 are ready.
“This gap is a constraint on growth, infrastructure development and industrialization,” he said.
At the same time, demand for technical and vocational education is exceeding capacity, with TVET colleges receiving millions of applications for the limited number of places.
The government has set a target of 37,000 artisan registrations this year and aims to increase annual qualifications to 29,000 within two years along with expanding work-based learning opportunities.
With the formal job market unable to absorb all graduates, Manmela said entrepreneurship should become the center of the education system.
“There aren't enough jobs to absorb them,” he said.
While all 50 public TVET colleges now offer entrepreneurship programs, he stressed that training alone is insufficient without broader economic reform.
“Entrepreneurship will not thrive in an economy that is structurally closed,” he said, pointing to barriers to access to funding, markets and opportunities.
Manamela also linked youth exclusion to early childhood inequality, citing statistics showing that only 42% of children are on track developmentally by the age of five.
“Inequality crops up early,” he said, noting that gaps in nutrition, stimulation and early education continue to shape long-term outcomes.
The government has allocated R18.4 billion for early childhood development in the medium term and plans to increase access by an additional 300,000 children, although the minister acknowledged that funding is less than necessary for quality provision.
Despite education receiving the largest share of public expenditure, Manmela said fragmentation and weak coordination in the system lead to weak results.
“A lot of initiatives. Very little alignment,” he said.
He said failures in delivery – including delays and inefficiencies – were losing public trust.
“When the system fails… we are breaking a contract,” he said.
Manamela called for a coordinated approach between government, industry and civil society to link education with economic needs, warning that progress would be measured on implementation rather than policy.
“We have plans. We have resources. We have goals,” he said. “The question is of delivery.”
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