The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has secured commitments from private sector leaders to partner with government in advancing South Africa’s skills development agenda and strengthening the country’s education-to-employment pipeline.
The commitments emerged from a high-level business breakfast convened by Manamela on Monday, ahead of the Higher Education and Training Budget Vote speech delivered in Parliament on Tuesday.
The engagement brought together executives and leaders from the agriculture, mining, engineering, ICT, financial services and other strategic sectors, alongside government representatives, skills development institutions, intermediaries and start-ups.
The discussions focused on tackling South Africa’s deepening youth unemployment crisis and improving alignment between the country’s education and training systems and labour market needs.
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South Africa currently has more than three million young people who are not in education, employment or training, while many graduates and qualified young people remain unemployed, despite ongoing complaints from businesses about skills shortages.
Manamela said the engagement aimed to create a practical platform through which government and business could work together to ensure that skills development responds meaningfully to labour market demands and economic growth.
He said the initiative would evolve into a permanent partnership platform, supported by regular engagements and a clear implementation plan to ensure accountability and measurable outcomes.
The discussions anchored around five strategic themes, including:
· Reimagining public-private partnerships in the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector by moving towards strategic, long-term collaboration that builds sustainable systems.
· Bridging the skills-industry gap through curriculum alignment, workplace exposure and direct business participation in training design.
· Scaling apprenticeships, learnerships and work-integrated learning opportunities by exploring incentives, removing barriers and improving implementation at scale.
· Identifying what business requires from government, including policy certainty, efficient processes, accessible funding mechanisms and improved accountability.
· Establishing a shared accountability framework that clearly defines roles, responsibilities and measurable outcomes for both government and business.
The session concluded with participating business leaders making formal pledges to support the implementation of government’s skills development agenda.
Among the key outcomes of the engagement was strong support for the revitalisation and repositioning of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
Business leaders said TVET colleges remained central to South Africa’s economic future and should be repositioned as institutions preparing young people for practical, future-focused occupations that would remain relevant despite advances in artificial intelligence and automation.
Participants also called for stronger coordination within government and closer alignment between the public and private sectors to ensure skills development interventions are more responsive and effective.
Entrepreneurship development also featured prominently in the discussions, with business leaders stressing that young people should be equipped not only to seek jobs but also to create businesses and employment opportunities.
The engagement was co-hosted by Standard Bank and Primestars.
Head of Corporate Citizenship at Standard Bank, Dr Kirston Greenhop, reinforced the importance of prioritising vocational education and practical skills development as a key pillar of inclusive economic participation.
Primestars CEO, Nkosinathi Moshoana highlighted the importance of linking learning opportunities directly to employment through initiatives such as the organisation’s “learning to earning” campaign.
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Manamela said the discussions needed to translate into practical implementation and measurable impact.
“The report that emerges from this process must speak directly to how we action partnerships and collaboration in a meaningful and measurable way. There is already important work happening across sectors and institutions.
“Our responsibility now is to identify what is working, understand how to scale it, and take all of these commitments forward into concrete programmes that benefit young people and the economy,” the Minister said.
He reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring that the post-school education and training system becomes a driver of economic inclusion and opportunity.
“We cannot allow our education and training system to become a waiting room for unemployment for our youth. It must become a platform for empowerment, productivity, innovation and national development,” he said.