Johannesburg, 10 February 2026 – South Africa’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) are operating under unsustainable pressure, caught between contradictory mandates that hinder their ability to deliver vital skills for a rapidly evolving economy.
This was the consensus among industry leaders, union representatives, and policymakers during a high-level dialogue hosted by the Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) at Wits University.
The Core Problem: Institutional Inertia
While all stakeholders agreed that the current skills development system requires a radical overhaul, opinions diverged sharply on the path forward. Research presented by Prof. Stephanie Allais, Research Chair of Skills Development at REAL, highlighted that SETAs are crippled by:
- Conflicting Mandates: Being pulled in too many directions by state and industry expectations.
- Design Flaws: Institutional structures that are fundamentally misaligned with industry needs.
- Unrealistic Expectations: Failure to distinguish between realistic training outcomes and administrative bureaucracy.
“If we got this issue of the mandate more clear, some of the structural problems might be easier to resolve,” noted Prof. Allais.
Industry Voices: “Removed from Reality”
The most damning critique came from Ingrid Du Buisson of the Institute for Customs and Freight Forwarding (ICFF), who represents employers facilitating 95% of South Africa’s international trade.
Du Buisson argued that SETAs are profoundly removed from business reality, resulting in:
- Outdated Curriculum: Training programmes that do not reflect modern technological advancements.
- Inappropriate Infrastructure: Learners trained on obsolete equipment.
- Industrial Frustration: Industry has resorted to developing its own accredited training programmes to bridge the widening skills gap.
The Way Forward: Collaboration Over Bureaucracy
Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof. Zeblon Vilakazi, emphasized the urgent need for collective action.
“The future skills development courses of South Africa will not be shaped by politicians, it will be shaped by the relationships that we are building, by institutions that can work together, and the courage to acknowledge what is not working.”
The REAL Centre will continue these engagements, with the next dialogue on 27 February focusing on restructuring SETAs to better support workplace skills planning and funding.
