A general view of a sign welcoming delegates at the entrance of the G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meetings, at the Capital hotel in Zimbali, Durban
JOHANNESBURG - Last week’s G20 Education Working Group and Ministerial Meetings put the global spotlight on the future of learning – how to make education more inclusive, relevant and sustainable in a fast-changing world. For South Africa, the discussion could not be more urgent.
The country has made progress in expanding access to schooling and post-school education since 1994. Yet access has not translated into opportunity for millions of young people.
The labour market remains one of the most exclusionary in the world, and the growing disjuncture between education and employment is deepening inequality.
There were about 10.3 million young people aged 15-24 in Q1 2025; of these, 37.1% were not in employment, education or training (NEET).
When nearly two in five young people are disengaged from both learning and work, educational investments alone cannot deliver social mobility or inclusive growth. This is the highest youth exclusion rate in the G20, and it tells a story of wasted potential that no country can afford.
Youth unemployment is a telling sign that the school-to-work transition remains broken for many. The economy is not creating enough jobs at the required pace, and not where young people live. Where jobs are created, they too often require experience or skills that recent graduates do not yet have.
The result is a widening “opportunity gap”: education expands aspirations and, in many cases, qualifications, but the bridge into work is missing or too narrow.
Closing this divide requires policy and institutional shifts that align what and how people learn with where employers are investing.
It also demands a much tighter connection between public financing, industrial policy and labour-absorbing pathways for young people, especially women who bear a disproportionate burden of unemployment and NEET status.
Linking education to opportunity
Education is one of the most powerful tools for tackling inequality, but it can’t, on its own, bridge the gap between learning and livelihoods.
The real challenge isn’t just what people learn, it’s whether that learning leads to jobs and economic participation.
In South Africa, this missing link continues to hold back progress, reflecting a problem faced by many G20 economies.
That is why the B20 Employment & Education Task Force, which brings together global business leaders under the G20 process, has made this dual focus explicit. Its work recognises that education and employment are inseparable – and that policies must prepare people not only to learn, but also to earn.
Education is the foundation of opportunity. But it’s not a finish line. The real test of education is opportunity. It’s not enough to increase access to schooling or qualifications if young people still can’t find pathways into work.”
Early education: where inequality begins
The Task Force’s recommendations start where opportunity begins:- early childhood. Research shows the foundations for lifelong learning are built in the first five years, yet access to quality early education remains unequal across much of the developing world.
In South Africa, around 1.3 million children aged 3 to 5 years are not enrolled in any early childhood development (ECD) programme. The consequences are visible in later years, when learners enter school already behind in literacy and numeracy and often never catch up.
The Task Force calls on G20 countries to leverage partnerships and digital innovation to expand affordable access to early education, investing in community-based models and using data to monitor progress. Without these early foundations, later interventions in skills and training cannot succeed.
From education to employment: connecting youth to earning opportunities
South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis underscores the importance of the “learning to earning” transition.
Many young people complete schooling, but few find stable employment, a pattern also seen across other developing G20 economies.
The Task Force proposes the establishment of a G20 Youth Employment Compact to strengthen youth employability through work-linked learning, vocational pathways and public–private partnerships. In practice, this means expanding models that bridge the gap between classrooms and workplaces.
Local initiatives such as the SA Youth.mobi platform, administered by Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, have demonstrated what’s possible.
By combining behavioural insights, digital tools and employer networks, Harambee has helped hundreds of thousands of young South Africans gain access to jobs and training. It is exactly the kind of scalable, data-driven approach the Task Force believes should be supported.
Lifelong learning for a changing world
Rapid automation and artificial intelligence are transforming the skills needed across nearly every sector. Yet, investment in lifelong learning remains uneven, often treated as a personal responsibility rather than a shared priority.
To change this, the Task Force is calling on G20 countries to set a clear national target: invest 0.5% of GDP in adult learning. This benchmark would drive accountability and improve funding coordination.
The goal is to equip workers for technological change and ensure everyone can participate in an evolving economy. In South Africa, this could mean aligning skills funding with actual market needs, modernising TVET curricula, and strengthening partnerships between business, training providers, and government.
G20 moment for national renewal
South Africa’s G20 Presidency offers a rare chance to drive national action and shape global policy. The theme, ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’, speaks directly to the country’s core challenge: turning learning into real livelihoods.
By aligning investment, skills, and first-job opportunities around clear outcomes—and linking global commitments to local delivery—South Africa can use this Presidency as a catalyst for lasting reform.
If we bridge the gap between education and employment, we can transform the promise of learning into a genuine pathway to work, dignity, and shared prosperity—for every young South African, and for a generation that deserves more than just potential.
Shadi Chauke acts as Deputy Chair of the B20 Employment & Education Task Force and is Sanlam Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.