Cyber security leaders have to tackle AI-driven skills shortages and explore practical solutions to bridge talent gaps, empower youth, and strengthen South Africa’s digital future.
Cyber security industry leaders share concern over the availability of relevant, in-demand skills – an issue that’s becoming increasingly pertinent due to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).
Filmed at the recent ITWeb Security Summit 2026, ITWeb TV interviewed several stakeholders to get their perspectives on the scope of the problem and the viability of potential solutions. Interviewees agreed the issue is complex and exacerbated by the high rate of youth unemployment in South Africa.
While there is a perception that there is a skills mismatch between the talent coming out of education and what industry needs, Matome Madibana, CEO of MICT SETA said his organisation is attempting to address this.
Madibana said the institution collaborates with industry and academia to prioritise sought-after skills, including AI, cyber security and cloud computing.
He added that the government advocates curriculum alignment and this is why the SETA conducts sector skills planning annually.
“The intention behind (this) is to ensure that whatever we produce, at the end of the day, is that which is in high demand in various sectors of the economy,” said Madibana.
Another challenge that South Africa faces in being able to add depth to its talent pool is that the job market demands candidates that have on-the-job experience within real-world environments. This has magnified the need to establish and sustain a talent pipeline.
Dr Simphiwe Mayisela, MD, SS-Consulting, and sessional lecturer, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) agreed that graduates enter the job market with substantial theoretical knowledge but often lack exposure to real world application.
He emphasised the need for hands-on experience and is part of what he’s working towards. “Our end goal is to introduce that kind of curriculum into the universities where students don’t just learn about hacking, they also get hands-on experience. They get an all-round perspective.”
As a practicing lecturer, Mayisela is able to bridge the gap between academic teachings and insight from his experience as a cyber security practitioner.
“I’ve noticed that when it comes to academia, there are more lecturers that come from an academic background, whereas I try to dilute that by coming from an industry background. So I bring more industry expertise over and above standard knowledge that you’d get from any lecture,” said Mayisela.
Fellow academic Noluntu Mpekoa, associate professor, Institute for Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, College of Economic and Management Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), raised another challenge – the need for more specific and detailed research for all stakeholders to identify and understand what happens after students graduate and supposedly enter the job market.
“We are generalising the issue that there are no skills, and we are not sure where we miss them – where are we losing these skills? Because they (students) do come to university, they choose computer science, they choose IS and IT, and graduate – but then industry is saying there is a lack of skills.”
James Stanger, tech evangelist at CompTIA, said one of the challenges faced is in the traditional ways of educating people.
“Whether it be methodologies, old online learning methodologies that don’t take interaction into consideration, that are not ‘hands-on. Other education methodologies that just don’t map how people learn these days.”
Absa is addressing the issue of growing work-relevant cyber skills through various initiatives, including its Cyber Security Academy. Nicole Cader is head of Absa’s Cyber Security Academy, and she also referred to the urgency to develop the talent pipeline and said this is dependent on acquiring buy-in from all stakeholders, including industry, government and academia.
The skills issue is impacted by yet another challenge – gender inequality.
Cader said the academy has noticed that there is more interest among women in technology-related careers and far from having to entice them to consider these careers, now women are “putting their hands up” to tech-linked job prospects.
But this issue – like all others associated with the dearth of cyber security skills – requires industry stakeholder buy-in before any solutions are put forward.
In addition to building awareness around cyber security at school level, industry executives stressed the need for alignment between stakeholders, more collaboration within the cyber security ecosystem, and the need for more learnerships, internships and other similar skills-building initiatives.
Significantly, executives acknowledged the general need for a proactive response from industry, from government, the public and private sectors to make a meaningful difference to the situation.
