Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube has called for research that goes beyond identifying challenges in South Africa’s post-school education and training (PSET) system and instead helps dismantle the structural barriers preventing young people from participating meaningfully in the economy.
Dube-Ncube made the call during an inaugural PSET Research Conference held at Coastlands Umhlanga in Durban on Friday, under the theme: “Future-Ready Occupational Training and Transformative Skills for Entrepreneurship and Employability: Innovations Shaping South Africa’s Workforce of Tomorrow.”
The inaugural PSET Research Conference brought together local, regional and international academics, researchers, policymakers, industry experts, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) practitioners to explore innovative approaches to occupational training that address unemployment, promote decent work, and strengthen a future-ready workforce.
The conference provided a critical platform to interrogate the purpose of education and strengthen the link between education, training, and sustainable employment.
In her address, Dube-Ncube noted that the conference came at a critical time as the country grapples with the persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, stressing the need for research that does not simply count challenges, but “interrogates causes.”
She said research should help bridge the gap between data and the lived realities of communities, particularly young people who leave education with qualifications and skills but remain excluded from meaningful economic participation.
“This is not a failure of talent; it is a failure of alignment. We are confronted with structural economic crises. What we call mismatch, or hit and miss,” the Deputy Minister said.
Dube-Ncube said the challenge requires the PSET sector to rethink how it prepares young people for the labour market, including strengthening occupational training, entrepreneurship, and partnerships with industry.
She highlighted the need for institutions to be more proactive in responding to skills shortages and changing economic needs, rather than waiting for directives from government.
The Deputy Minister also emphasised that acquiring a technical skill is not enough if graduates lack access to markets, finance, and industrial integration.
“A young person may graduate with a technical skill, but without access to markets, finance or industrial integration, that skill remains dormant.”
She linked the conference theme to the department’s 2026/27 Annual Performance Plan, which is anchored in a reform mandate flowing from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a National Skills Revolution during the 2026 State of the Nation Address.
Dube-Ncube said the reform agenda is built around five priorities, including integrating the post-school education and training system into a single coordinated whole; expanding equitable access, particularly for young people not in employment, education or training; improving quality and learning outcomes; strengthening the responsiveness of the system to the economy and labour market; and restoring governance, accountability and public confidence in institutions.
She said these priorities are closely aligned with the conference’s focus on occupational training, transformative skills, entrepreneurship, and employability.
The Deputy Minister also called for a stronger focus on graduate enterprise, rather than measuring PSET success only by the number of graduates who secure employment.
“The more ambitious target is graduate enterprise – TVET and university graduates who go on to create jobs, not simply find them,” Dube-Ncube said.
Dube-Ncube identified Work Integrated Learning, artisan development and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) as important mechanisms for equipping young people with both technical skills and the confidence and market knowledge required to establish sustainable enterprises.
Dube-Ncube also urged the sector to draw lessons from international models, while developing solutions suited to South Africa’s circumstances.
She pointed to Germany’s dual vocational training system, where apprentices divide their time between vocational institutions and workplaces, with industry playing a key role in curriculum development.
Singapore’s SkillsFuture initiative and Rwanda’s Dual TVET model were also highlighted as examples of stronger cooperation between government, employers, training institutions, and other stakeholders.
“The shared lesson is that wherever occupational training has succeeded, industry has been at the table from the beginning, not invited in at the end,” Dube-Ncube said.
She said research generated through the inaugural conference should not remain confined to academic publications but directly inform government policy and reforms.
Dube-Ncube also encouraged international delegates to work with South Africa in developing solutions suited to the country and the continent, stressing that South Africa is not looking for models to copy, but partners to build with. – SAnews.gov.za
