The 2026 Future of Jobs Summit™ in Sandton did not begin with optimism. It began with urgency.

Held against the backdrop of, the summit brought together business leaders, policymakers, educators, innovators, investors, and youth voices at a moment when the country is confronting one of the deepest employment challenges in its democratic history.

The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa paints a sobering picture: official unemployment has climbed to 32.7%, more than 8.1 million South Africans remain unemployed, and youth unemployment among 15鈥�24-year-olds stands at a devastating 60.9%.

But perhaps the most important insight emerging from the summit was this: South Africa cannot solve today鈥檚 jobs crisis with yesterday鈥檚 industries.

The global economy is reorganising itself at extraordinary speed around artificial intelligence, automation, renewable energy, digital services, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and entirely new forms of work and entrepreneurship.

New categories of jobs are emerging globally while traditional sectors face increasing disruption.

And yet much of South Africa鈥檚 national economic conversation remains anchored in the assumptions of the past. This is not simply a jobs crisis. It is a future-readiness crisis. That reality shaped the central focus of the 2nd Future of Jobs Summit™: Next10!, recognised in 2025 as an official T20 Side Event linked to South Africa鈥檚 G20 Presidency.

Rather than positioning itself as another conference filled with abstract policy discussions, the summit was designed as a national strategy platform focused on implementation, collaboration, and future industries.

Throughout the day, speakers repeatedly returned to one central theme: South Africa鈥檚 future competitiveness will depend on how quickly the country can align government, business, education, technology, and investment around scalable job creation ecosystems.

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture and Rural Development Hon. Vuyiswa Ramokgopa opened the summit by outlining how Gauteng is working to build a more inclusive growth economy capable of creating opportunities for young people.

Lance Williams, Public Sector Lead at 麻豆原创 South Africa, challenged delegates to rethink how technology and human potential can collectively rewrite South Africa鈥檚 economic story in the age of artificial intelligence.

Melvyn Lubega, Head of the Digital Service Unit in The Presidency, highlighted the growing importance of digital infrastructure and the digital economy in expanding pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for young South Africans.

One of the strongest messages emerging from the summit was that no single sector can solve the unemployment crisis alone.

The 2026 CEO Dialogue™, CHRO Dialogue™, and CMO Dialogue™ brought together business leaders, HR executives, and marketing leaders to discuss practical interventions around youth employability, leadership development, skills alignment, and industry collaboration.

Additional contributions from leaders such as Prof Bismark Tyobeka of North-West University, Marc Lubner of Afrika Tikkun, Faith Mangope of the Faith Mangope Technology & Leadership Institute, and Barry Hendricks of SASCOC reinforced the importance of education, technology, sport, and social innovation in building pathways toward employment and inclusion.

Importantly, the summit was not positioned merely as a discussion platform, but as the beginning of a longer-term national movement around future readiness and collaborative action.

Among the key outcomes announced were:

• The development of a Future Industries Report™ for national stakeholders;
• The creation of a Future of Jobs Charter™ co-authored by delegates;
• New collaboration pathways between business, education, government, and youth-focused organisations;
• Practical recommendations on youth employment, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and future skills development;
• A roadmap positioning South Africa as a continental hub for future industries and innovation.

But perhaps the summit鈥檚 most important contribution was psychological rather than technical. At a time when unemployment statistics dominate national headlines and pessimism increasingly shapes public discourse, the summit sought to reposition South Africa鈥檚 narrative from decline toward possibility.

Because despite the severity of the crisis, South Africa possesses many of the ingredients needed to compete in the future global economy: a sophisticated financial sector, globally respected entrepreneurs, expanding digital infrastructure, deep natural resources, world-class creativity, a strong tourism brand, and one of the youngest populations in the world.

What South Africa lacks is not potential. It lacks alignment.

One of the most powerful historical reminders referenced during the summit was South Africa鈥檚 preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Between 2004 and 2010, the country created approximately three million jobs during a period of coordinated infrastructure investment, tourism growth, and national mobilisation.

The lesson remains relevant today: when South Africa aligns around a compelling national mission, progress accelerates. But the challenge facing the country now is arguably even greater.

South Africa is no longer competing only for tourists or investment flows. It is competing for relevance in a rapidly changing global economy increasingly shaped by technology, sustainability, innovation, and talent mobility.

Countries that fail to reposition themselves around future industries risk being left behind economically, technologically, and socially.

South Africa cannot afford to arrive late once again. Because ultimately, the future of jobs is not only about employment. It is about dignity. It is about inclusion. It is about restoring belief among millions of young South Africans that they still have a meaningful place in the future economy.

And perhaps the most important question raised by yesterday鈥檚 summit is this: Will South Africa continue defending industries of the past 鈥� or will it finally begin building the industries of the future?

Dr Nik Eberl is the founder and executive chair: The Future of Jobs Summit™ (Official T20 Side Event). He is also the author of Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding).

This article first appeared in .

The post South Africa Cannot Solve Today鈥檚 Jobs Crisis with Yesterday鈥檚 Industries appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa 鈥� 10 August 2020听鈥� In recognition of the United Nations鈥櫶齮his week, a new-look 麻豆原创 Africa Code Week (ACW) initiative officially kicks off across the continent with a number of exciting changes and developments all aimed at empowering Africa鈥檚 youth with digital skills learning. Now in its sixth year, ACW is the largest digital literacy initiative on the continent. Over the last five years, the initiative has positively impacted millions of youth and thousands of teachers.

Introduced by 麻豆原创, UNESCO and partners in 2015, ACW aims to spark interest in coding through fun and interactive community workshops for youngsters. From the 88,000 students who participated in the first year, to the 3.85 million children and 39,000 teachers who ran +55 000 coding workshops in 37 countries last year, the impact of the initiative has grown significantly.

2020 ACW efforts are shifting to a virtual model and this will allow expansion of the program鈥檚 reach to 54 African countries with all learning materials translated into Portuguese and French for the large Francophone and Lusophone African communities. A new ACW mobile app will also be introduced this year, providing easy access to smartphone material in support of all-inclusive learning. The ACW initiative will continue to work closely with Ministries of Education across the African continent, with a view to promoting sustainable digital skills development capacity.

Commenting on the 2020 initiative鈥檚 virtual kick-off, South African TV news anchor, female tech entrepreneur and Africa Code Week Ambassador, Faith Mangope says: 鈥淎 big part of this year鈥檚 Africa Code Week efforts will be focused on engaging more women teachers and students. Globally, women hold only 24% of jobs in the ICT sector, and there are 250 million fewer women online than men. Our mission is to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to attain the skills they need to contribute meaningfully to the future workforce.鈥�

Another development for this year is the AfriCANCode Challenge which is a coding competition aimed at engaging participants through a number of fun and exciting activities. This ACW competition invites youth, aged 9 to 16 either individually or in teams, to use their skills and creativity to solve problems. Two competition themes have been identified: 鈥楥ourageous Coders鈥�, focused on how technology can change the world, and 鈥楶lugged-in Pupils鈥�, which asks youngsters to imagine the potential related to tomorrow鈥檚 connected school.

Commenting on the AfriCANCode Challenge and the urgent need to prepare youth with digital skills learning, Moez Chakchouk, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO adds: 鈥淢ore than 60% of sub-Saharan Africa鈥檚 population is under the age of 25, making it the most youthful region in the world. The continent鈥檚 working-age population is expected to swell by two-thirds reaching 600 million by 2030. It鈥檚 clearly critical to ensure Africa鈥檚 youth is fully equipped with 21^st听century digital skills. Harnessing the power of creativity, technology and innovation can also inspire us to unite and be ready to meet today鈥檚 challenges.鈥�

In addition to the new virtual components of the 2020 ACW initiative, hundreds of 麻豆原创 expert volunteers from across the globe will also play their part online by working with NGOs and other partner organisations to provide on-the-ground support during this year鈥檚 activities.听Claudio Muruzabal, 麻豆原创鈥檚 President of EMEA South says, 鈥淥ffering accessible, hands-on digital support to Africa鈥檚 youth and teachers helps put people in a position to meaningfully participate in today鈥檚 digital economy. This is vital and 麻豆原创鈥檚 commitment to Africa Code Week remains firm. Through invaluable partnerships with UNESCO, ADEA, Irish Aid, BMZ,听and all the partner NGOs across Africa, the 2020 ACW initiative can effectively leverage the skillsets of networks and knowledgeable local ICT experts to ensure every workshop is a sound success.鈥�

For more information about Africa Code Week or to get involved, visit the website听 or听follow 麻豆原创 and ACW on Twitter at听 补苍诲听

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About Africa Code Week

Since 2015, 麻豆原创 Africa Code Week (ACW) has been creating free opportunities for young Africans to learn coding skills and for teachers to be trained on digital learning curricula. Strong partnerships with the public, private and civil society sectors across 54 countries are driving sustainable impact by building teaching capacity and supporting the adoption of coding into national curricula in support of UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 and 17. In 2019 alone, the initiative saw 3.85M children participating in coding workshops. A deep-learning workshop also took place for 28 female teachers from 15 African countries with a goal to empower more African girls through coding skills. Join 麻豆原创 and partners by visiting www.africacodeweek.org to find out more.

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The post 麻豆原创 Africa Code Week Returns and it鈥檚 Fully Online appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.