South Africa cannot solve its unemployment crisis by looking only inward. We need to connect South African talent to global demand, and build the industries capable of serving it. Not because South Africans need to leave the country to find work, but because the world increasingly needs what South Africans can offer.
The latest Statistics South Africa figures should force us to rethink the way we approach unemployment.
The official unemployment rate has risen to 33.6%, with approximately 8.5 million people unemployed. For young people, the situation is even more alarming, with youth unemployment approaching half of the youth labour force.
We have spent decades asking how do we create enough jobs in South Africa instead of asking how do we connect South Africans to economic opportunity wherever it exists in the world?
The world is becoming our labour market. A software developer in Soweto can build for Silicon Valley. A designer in Cape Town can work for London. A financial analyst in Johannesburg can serve clients in Berlin. A South African animator can contribute to a global production without leaving the country.
Work is becoming increasingly digital, distributed and borderless. Why, then, should we define South Africa's employment opportunity by the size of our domestic economy? We should export not only minerals, wine and manufactured goods, but talent, technology, intellectual property, professional services, creativity and experiences.
South Africa's Global Business Services sector shows what is possible. It is on track to co-create 500,000 jobs servicing international markets by 2030, with up to 90% going to young people. This is more than a sector success story. It is a blueprint for solving unemployment.
From GBS to the Next10!
The next step is to replicate this model across industries in which South Africa can become globally competitive.
That is the thinking behind the Next10! Framework which was adopted by the Future of Jobs Summit earlier this year: 10 future industries in which South Africa can build distinctive capabilities, attract investment and create employment at scale:
Artificial intelligence and advanced computing; green energy and climate technology; smart agriculture and food security; space and aerospace; biotechnology and health innovation; creative industries and cultural exports; financial innovation and digital services; tourism, sport and the experience economy; advanced manufacturing and robotics; and future mobility and transport.
The objective is to build 10 globally competitive South African industries that serve the world. Imagine South African AI companies selling globally. Green-energy expertise exported to countries pursuing decarbonisation.
African agricultural technology becoming a global food-security proposition. South African creative talent exporting film, music, gaming and design.
The question should therefore change from: “How many jobs can this industry create?” to: “How many South Africans can this industry connect to global opportunity?” That is the mindset shift we urgently need. We have done it before.
South Africa has consistently produced global brands that demonstrate the power of international expansion. Think of Discovery, Naspers, Nando's, MTN and Shoprite. They began with South African roots and built businesses serving markets far beyond our borders. Our challenge now is to create the next generation of South African global champions.
Stop training for yesterday's jobs
There is another fundamental shift we need to make. Training people without connecting them to markets is not a jobs strategy. We need demand-led talent development. Business must tell universities and training providers what capabilities global markets will require.
Education must build those capabilities. Government must remove barriers to investment, entrepreneurship and scaling. Investors must back South African companies with global ambitions.
And young South Africans must be encouraged to see themselves not merely as job seekers, but as global talent. Our goal should be global employability.
From conversation to execution
This is why the Future of Jobs Summit matters. Previously convened as an official T20 Side Event aligned with South Africa's G20 Presidency, the Summit brought together leaders from business, government, academia and civil society to address the future of employment. It returns in June 2027.
But we should make the next Summit more than another conference about unemployment.
It should become a working session for South Africa's jobs future. Imagine bringing together CEOs, government leaders, universities, investors and young people and asking one ambitious question: “What would it take to connect one million South Africans to global economic opportunity through the Next10!?” That is a target worth debating. It is a target worth measuring. And, most importantly, it is a target worth building together.
The NEXT10! challenge to South Africa's leaders
To business leaders: Don't only ask where your next employees will come from. Ask where your next global customers will come from—and how many South Africans you can employ to serve them.
To government: Don't only measure jobs created. Measure South Africa's global employability and export of talent.
To universities: Don't train graduates for yesterday's economy. Build the talent pipelines for the Next10.
To investors: Find the next Discovery, Naspers, Nando's, MTN or Shoprite—and help it become global.
And to our young people: Don't limit your ambitions to the South African job market. Prepare yourself for the world.
Today, we stand at the crossroads of enabling the next generation – either we resign ourselves to remaining a nation waiting for jobs to come to us.
Or we commit to becoming a Talent Nation: a country that builds globally competitive industries, exports its capabilities and connects its people to opportunity everywhere.
Our biggest jobs market may indeed be 10,000 kilometres away. The question is whether we have the ambition to go after it.
* Dr Nik Eberl is the founder and executive chair: The Future of Jobs Summit™ (Official T20 Side Event). He is also the author of Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding).
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.