The World Bank has released a report indicating a growing gap between employer needs and the outcomes of the education and training system in South Africa. Despite high unemployment, the country faces a shortage of critical technological competencies, including software development, network administration, and cybersecurity.
The report, titled 'From Demand to Delivery: Strengthening South Africa’s Digital Skills Pipeline,' identified a structural misalignment between what the labor market requires and what the skills development system produces. Of the 350 professions classified by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as critical, 32 fall under Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sectors, covering National Qualifications Framework levels from five to eight, including technical and degree-level roles.
According to the 2024 survey of graduates and employers, there was an unfilled vacancy rate of about 7% in ICT-related fields. Demand analysis showed 380 vacancies for software developers, 285 for network engineers, and the remainder for ICT security specialists.
These issues arise against a backdrop of a difficult economic situation. South African statistics recorded an official unemployment rate of 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with the number of unemployed increasing by 345,000 people to 8.5 million. The International Monetary Fund forecasts South Africa's economy to grow by only 1.1% in 2026.
The report suggests that the deficit may be related not only to a lack of candidates but also to the mismatch of applicants' skills and experience, as well as the geographical distribution of candidates and vacancies. According to the IITPSA ICT Skills Survey 2024, 26% of respondents attribute the skills gap to deficiencies in basic education, 24% to a lack of graduate pipeline, and 21% to rapid technological progress.
Earlier weaknesses in the system were also identified. Foundational digital skills were named a 'bottleneck at the initial stage,' due to unequal access to devices, reliable connectivity, and digital educators. Some students entered post-school education without sufficient basic digital preparation, limiting their progression to more complex courses.
Graduates in advanced ICT areas concentrated in fields such as IT management, business systems, and digital design or user experience. However, the number of graduates was significantly lower in areas like data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud technologies, and infrastructure, as well as in software development related to the most hard-to-fill positions.
The report found that new program accreditations between 2018 and 2021 mainly expanded already dominant areas instead of reorienting training towards undersupplied sectors. The demand for digital capabilities was not limited to narrowly specialized technical jobs; online job advertisement analysis showed that 44.8% mentioned transversal digital skills, including general work capabilities such as digital communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. Basic ICT skills appeared in 30.9% of advertisements, and advanced ICT competencies in 26.4%.
The report, prepared by the World Bank in collaboration with DHET and funded by the Mastercard Foundation, was based on qualification data, online job postings, and consultations with government, educational institutions, and employers. The job vacancy analysis covered postings from October 2020 to June 2024, while stakeholder consultations took place from October 2024 to August 2025.
In conclusion, the report noted that although several government departments, vocational training bodies, and educational institutions are responsible for developing digital skills, 'no single organization bears full responsibility' for managing the system from skills demand to education and training supply. It was emphasized that formal approval of new programs by higher education and qualifications bodies can take years, whereas industry skill demand can change within months.
According to the MICT SETA study cited in the report, unemployment among participants after completing the program decreased from 72% in 2023 to 49% in 2024, and the average monthly salary increased from R7,207 to R11,737. More than a quarter of participants found employment within a month. The World Bank insists that the priority for South Africa should be implementing existing plans rather than developing a new strategy, as the task is to 'turn existing policy intentions into implementation.'