Nicola Mawson
Almost two thirds of South African businesses have identified skills gaps as a key barrier to business transformation by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Future of Jobs Report 2025, released today.
The report which has been published twice a year for the past decade, provides insights into the emerging jobs landscape for the 2025-2030 period.
It was compiled based on the perspectives of more than 1 000 employers, which represents more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies.
Overall, it said: “Technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition – individually and in combination – are among the major drivers expected to shape and transform the global labour market by 2030.”
Locally, it also noted that a third of companies planning to expand their talent pool and improve skills matching in an environment of rapid technology change aim to remove degree requirements, creating more accessible pathways to emerging jobs.
The report comes at a time when youth employment is a serious issue, with 34.2% of South Africa’s young people between the ages of 18 and 34 not being in employment, education or training as of the third quarter of last year.
This compares with an overall unemployment rate of 32.1%, according to the latest Statistics South Africa figures.
The unemployment rate among working age South Africans is highest for those without a matric qualification, while those with a tertiary qualification were less likely to be unemployed, Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows.
WEF’s report noted that with jobs such as and Machine Learning Specialists as well as Robotics Engineers on the rise, companies are planning to upskill employees and hire talent with new skills to meet evolving business needs.
“In addition, many employers in South Africa expect to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, with 55% anticipating targeting individuals from disadvantaged religious or ethnic and racial backgrounds, and 41% those from low-income backgrounds, compared to 27% and 24%, respectively, globally,” it stated.
BUSINESS REPORT