Young South Africans are caught in an AI dilemma, with many embracing the technology while others worry about its impact on their job prospects. According to Statistics South Africa's second-quarter 2026 Quarterly Labour Force Survey, youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 34 stands at 47.4%, compared with an overall unemployment rate of 33.6%. The number of unemployed young people rose by 264,000 to 5 million. This gap was the backdrop to the 5th Annual Future of Work Dialogue, hosted by Tshwane University of Technology's (TUT) Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW) in Pretoria from 30 September to 1 October.
The dialogue, themed "Turning the Developmental Tide: Advancing Africa's Resilient Future Through AI-Enabled Innovation Pathways", brought together government, business, academia, and labour to move from debating AI's implications to deciding on concrete actions. Tseliso Mohlomi, a senior director in TUT's Office of the Vice-Chancellor, emphasized that the future of work is already here, and young South Africans searching for work cannot wait for institutions to perfect their strategies. An OECD and Cisco study found that 45.4% of South Africans actively use generative AI, while over three-quarters of respondents considered it useful.
However, a different mood exists among those still outside the workforce. The African Leadership University's 2025 survey found that only 39% of South African school leavers felt confident about finding a job after their education, while just 36% saw AI as an opportunity for their career. The biggest worry was that 62% feared there would not be enough jobs. This contrast highlights the challenges faced by young South Africans in navigating the changing job market.
Awareness of AI and its implications is another problem. Research by the Global Center on AI Governance found that over 70% of South Africans had little or no familiarity with the term "artificial intelligence", with social media and television or radio among their main sources of information rather than formal education. Using a chatbot is one thing, but having the skills employers are hiring for is another.
South Africa has no shortage of strategies on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), digital transformation, and skills development. However, IFOW argued that the problem lies in coordinated implementation. At the 2025 dialogue, participants proposed a National AI Implementation Council to coordinate government, universities, and industry around a measurable, time-bound roadmap. This year, organisers returned to the questions behind that idea: Who is responsible for what? By when? With which resources? How will progress be measured?
Employers need fast-changing skills, while universities and colleges can struggle to update curricula quickly enough. IFOW called for employers to flag emerging skills earlier, faster curriculum adaptation, more apprenticeships and workplace learning, and greater industry investment in the pipelines from which businesses recruit. The skills identified as being in demand include cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI literacy, and data engineering, with deeper capability needed in microelectronics, advanced manufacturing, and embedded AI systems.
The dialogue also examined Africa's place in the global technology economy. Organisers said African economies needed to build the skills, enterprises, research capacity, and intellectual property to participate across technology value chains, rather than simply consume technology built elsewhere. The aim is a shared framework naming responsibilities, resources, timelines, and measurable actions. Mohlomi emphasized that implementation is not the less glamorous part of strategy, but for South Africa, implementation has become the strategy.
Key points
- Young South Africans are embracing AI, but many remain worried about finding work as the technology reshapes the skills employers need.
- The country needs a coordinated implementation of AI strategies to address the unemployment crisis.
- African economies must build skills, enterprises, research capacity, and intellectual property to participate in the global technology economy.
