Skills Development

In less than a year, Puseletso Sechogela went from carpentry graduate to full-time administrator, and then computer skills facilitator, assessor and moderator. 

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has called on the private sector, labour organisations and civil society to work with government to transform South Africa’s skills system and tackle unemployment.

The government has launched a new 4IR Lab that is aimed at boosting skills development, and preparing young people for the jobs of the future.  

Organisations across sectors continue to report persistent skills shortages, yet a large and capable segment of the population remains excluded from meaningful economic participation, says Afri Training Institute.

At the recent 2026 Mining Skills Lekgotla the head of the Council for Geoscience, highlighted the central role of geoscience and skills development in shaping a modern mining sector.  

The South African government has reaffirmed its commitment to technical skills development following the graduation of 600 refrigeration and air-conditioning servicing technicians and 35 trainers.

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has given more details about the progress made by administrators appointed to stabilise three of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

The QCTO as a Quality Council is responsible for quality assurance of the implementation of occupational qualifications.

QCTO set standards for trustworthy assessment results, and monitoring implementation to ensure consistency across assessments, and confidence in the value and integrity of occupational qualifications.

The QCTO has developed a Constitution for Private Provider Provincial Forums. Part of the QCTO Mandate is to conduct Research and Analysis of the Post-school Education and Training (PSET) landscape.