We were honoured to host Professor Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at Stellenbosch University, and Cathy Sims, Executive Director of SAGEA (South African Graduate Employers Association), at our recent Thought Leaders networking engagement.

Entitled Building a Future-Proof Talent Pipeline, Working Towards Deeper University-Industry Collaboration, both Professor Moyo’s and Cathy Sims’s extensive experience in this area yielded a highly informative discussion for all attendees.

CEO of Accelerate Cape Town, Ryan Ravens, opened the discussion by presenting key insights from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025. He outlined five macro trends shaping the future of work: technological advancement, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, and the green transition. Ryan also reflected on South Africa’s own set of pressing challenges, including political uncertainty around the GNU, persistently high youth unemployment, financial strain on universities, and the country’s critically low STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills base. He emphasised the urgent need for stronger partnerships between universities and industry, particularly over the next five years.

Imtiaaz Hashim, Cape Town Managing Partner at BDO, highlighted the importance of equipping future employees not only with relevant skills but also with the adaptability and resilience required to navigate ongoing and emerging challenges. He stressed that talent strategy must go beyond acquisition to focus equally on retention and long-term development.

Cathy Sims stressed the importance of building talent for the future, rather than merely buying it and the need for strong collaboration between tertiary and corporate to solve some of these complex problems. Drawing on international trends, she cited a projected shortfall of 1.2 million professional and associative professional occupation resources in the UK over the next three years – a demand that will intensify global competition for talent. This emphasises South Africa’s need not only to retain its own skills but also to ensure that remaining in the country is a viable and attractive option for graduates.

Cathy also shared an overview of South Africa’s current tertiary education landscape: only 7% (2.1 million people) of the population hold a university degree, with 3% holding a certificate and 5.7% a diploma. Of that, only 4.9% of Black South Africans hold university degrees, compared to 5.1% Coloured, 24.3% Indian, and 25.1% White South Africans – further sharing the impact of unemployment by education status.

Drawing on the WEF’s report, New Vision for Education – The Future, Cathy outlined the types of skills and competencies needed to support learners and future workers:

• Foundational Literacies – how students apply core skills to everyday tasks (literacy, numeracy, scientific literacy, ICT literacy, financial literacy, cultural and civic literacy) help learners gain university access.
• Competencies – how students approach complex challenges (critical thinking/ problem solving, creativity, communication, collaboration) are those that will assist with gaining employment.
• Character Qualities – how students approach a changing environment (curiosity, initiative, persistence/ grit, adaptability, leadership, social and cultural awareness) will be what enables some to thrive in a rapidly changing world and rise to the top.

Cathy also highlighted key global trends in early career recruitment, including a surge in applications, the growing acceptance of AI, and a significant shift towards skills-based hiring. Increasingly, it is not just about academic performance, but also the individual’s attributes and capabilities – further reinforcing the need for stronger university-industry alignment to adequately prepare learners for the world of work.

Professor Moyo echoed this sentiment, urging stakeholders to consider the entire tertiary landscape, including institutions like TVET colleges, as integral to building a robust talent pipeline. She stressed that involving industry early in the curriculum design process, for example, through advisory boards, can help ensure that academic programmes remain relevant and responsive. She also emphasised the need to expose students to practical, real-world experiences alongside theoretical study. Additionally, the large class sizes at universities (sometimes exceeding 300 students) often prevents learners from receiving adequate individual attention, further highlighting the importance of creative collaboration with industry.

Another pressing issue Professor Moyo raised was the growing number of unemployed graduates, many of whom are considered overqualified. She stressed the need for deeper collaboration with industry to ensure better alignment with actual labour market needs. Her goal for the year includes establishing industry partnerships at multiple universities across the Western Cape to foster regular engagement and mutual understanding.

On the topic of AI, Professor Moyo acknowledged its relevance and potential application in healthcare and other sectors. With the vast amount of information available today, there is a growing need for tools that can quickly gather data to support faster decision-making. Cathy emphasised that the rise of AI underscores the importance of critical thinking. While AI can generate information quickly, understanding the ‘so what’ and ‘then what’ remains essential. Students should be encouraged to engage with AI as a tool, but human interpretation will always be necessary to derive meaningful insights. Ryan also pointed out the rapid pace of AI adoption across industries, highlighting the need for universities to adapt their curricula accordingly. He noted that AI presents a valuable opportunity to enhance and maximise the potential of education.

The morning’s session ended with an interactive Q&A session that gave our members a chance for further discussion. There was a strong focus on the need for more knowledge sharing and open discussions with people working in this space, to help make sure that industry efforts and resources are strategically aligned for maximum impact and value.

Once again, sincerest thanks to our speakers, sponsors, and members – without whom these events would not be possible. We remain committed to facilitating engagement and collaboration between Cape Town business, local government, industry experts and other stakeholders as part of our shared goal of working together to find solutions to today’s challenges – thereby fostering economic growth and prosperity for both our region and country.