Thebe Mabanga
South Africa must move beyond Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy design, development and debate to implementation to address challenges including youth unemployment.
This is according to the Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW), which this week convened the 5th Annual Future of Work Dialogue in Pretoria.
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Held under the theme “Turning the Developmental Tide: Advancing Africa’s Resilient Future Through AI-Enabled Innovation Pathways,” the dialogue aims to shift focus from what artificial intelligence might mean for South Africa to what institutions must do now to ensure that technological change supports jobs, skills development and inclusive economic growth.
According to Statistics South Africa, the official unemployment rate stood at 33,6% in the second quarter of 2026, while unemployment among young people remained particularly high, at 62,8% for those aged 15 to 24 and 41,8% for those aged 25 to 34.
“The future of work is not a conversation about the future anymore. It is already here,” said Tseliso Mohlomi, Senior Director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal at TUT.
The IFOW argues that the critical issue is no longer whether AI will transform work, but whether South Africa is moving quickly and coherently enough to shape that transformation in its own interests.
“The young South African searching for work today cannot wait another five years for institutions to perfect their strategies. Neither can businesses searching for skills that our education and training system is not yet producing at sufficient scale,” said Mohlomi.
The Institute noted that South Africa has developed strategies and policy initiatives addressing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation, innovation and skills development — the challenge is increasingly one of coordinated implementation.
Mohlomi said that at last year’s dialogue, participants proposed the establishment of a National AI Implementation Council capable of coordinating government, universities and industry against a measurable and time-bound delivery roadmap.
This year’s dialogue aims to carry that conversation forward by proposing concrete steps and division of responsibilities across government, business and academia with timelines and measurable outcomes.
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Mohlomi said the urgency and the AI gap are particularly evident in the relationship between education and employment, noting: “Employers continue to require rapidly evolving capabilities, while universities and colleges must prepare students for occupations and technologies changing faster than conventional curriculum cycles.”
The IFOW argued that a more integrated response is required — including earlier identification of emerging skills by employers, faster curriculum adaptation, expanded apprenticeships and workplace learning, and greater industry investment in the skills pipelines from which businesses ultimately recruit.
This process also involves Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs)
The IFOW has identified immediate skills demand emerging in areas including cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI literacy and data engineering, while South Africa and the continent will increasingly need deeper capability in areas such as microelectronics, advanced manufacturing and embedded AI systems.
Mohlomi said the country and the continent should reject the idea that it must choose between technological advancement and employment, arguing that the two are not mutually exclusive, but can complement and reinforce each other.
