y Thapelo Molefe

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Nomusa Dube-Ncube says South Africa must urgently strengthen its artisan and vocational skills pipeline to support infrastructure development and economic growth, as the country pushes to produce 30,000 artisans annually by 2030.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the WorldSkills South Africa Competition, Conference and Career Festival at the Durban International Convention Centre on Sunday, Dube-Ncube said the country’s economic ambitions depend on building a stronger technical and vocational workforce.

“Every year we hear about our country investing trillions and billions of rands in infrastructure development,” she said. 

“The question that we have been asking ourselves is, who is going to roll out this infrastructure development if we do not have the skills that will roll out that infrastructure development?”

The national competition brings together more than 230 finalists who will compete across 27 technical and vocational skills categories. They were selected from over 1,500 applicants who entered the competition process, which s that began in 2024.

About 33 competitors will be chosen from the event to represent South Africa at the WorldSkills International Competition 2026 scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China later this year.

Dube-Ncube said the competitors would carry the hopes of the country onto the global stage.

“Many of them will be carrying not just tools and technical expertise, but the aspirations of our nation and the belief in the transformation of our skills system,” she said.

To improve South Africa’s performance at the international competition, the department plans to prepare the national team through international partnerships and additional training platforms.

“We are planning to use our bilateral relations with Austria, Germany and China as training and competition grounds for these young people before the September competitions,” Dube-Ncube said.

She also announced additional psychosocial support for competitors during the national event through Higher Health.

“I have spoken to the CEO of Higher Health to make sure that we have a team present here during the competition so that we provide psychosocial support to the competitors,” she said.

The deputy minister said skills competitions play an important role in improving training standards and strengthening collaboration between industry and the post school education and training system.

“This journey reflects our outcomes as the Department of Higher Education and Training in building a high quality, responsive and effective skills development system that strengthens pathways into employment and economic growth,” she said.

She also urged stronger cooperation between government, training institutions and industry, stressing that skills training must be aligned with labour market needs.

“We cannot teach in a vacuum. Whatever we teach in the classroom has to be driven by industry,” she said. 

“We must ask ourselves who we are teaching, what we are teaching for, and why we are teaching.”

Dube-Ncube said government would continue expanding artisan training opportunities and workplace learning programmes through partnerships with employers, training institutions and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

The deputy minister also welcomed the participation of learners from technical high schools, noting that two competitors from a technical school in Umlazi were taking part in the competition for the first time.

Addressing the competitors, she urged them to represent the country with pride.

“You carry not just your own aspirations. You carry the aspirations of this country and of other young people who did not have the opportunity that you have today,” she said.

Dube-Ncube officially declared the 2026 national competition open, saying the event represents a broader national effort to modernise skills development and build a workforce capable of supporting South Africa’s future growth.

“Through WorldSkills South Africa we are advancing a national movement to modernise skills development and build the citizens who will construct South Africa’s future,” she said.

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