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By Johnathan Paoli
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube reaffirmed her department’s determination to turn education into a powerful engine for empowering youth at the launch of a policy dialogue on entrepreneurship education on Monday.
She said there was an urgent need to equip learners with the skills, mindset and agency to face a changing world.
“Education is not only about preparing our youth for future education, training and jobs. It is also about preparing them for life. It is about equipping them with the ability to adapt, to lead, to innovate and to contribute meaningfully to society, whether as employees, entrepreneurs or just as engaged citizens,” she said.
The three-day event, held in partnership with the European Union’s Education for Employability (E4E) programme, brings together government officials, private sector leaders, civil society and academics to brainstorm solutions to the country’s education and employment challenges.
Gwarube began her address by stating that seven out of 10 young people in the country were without work and that the education system must be the conveyor belt to a future-ready workforce.
She outlined the department’s broader vision through the Three-Streams Curriculum Model and the pending national entrepreneurship education policy, calling for an education system that equipped learners not just to find jobs but to create them.
Gwarube linked the entrepreneurship agenda to foundational education reforms, particularly the need to improve early literacy and numeracy.
She also called for education rooted in ubuntu, encouraging ventures that benefited communities and built social cohesion.
The minister reaffirmed that entrepreneurship education was not a luxury, but a necessity.
Looking ahead to 2050, Gwarube warned that without urgent investment, South Africa’s youth dividend could become a burden, not a benefit.
Education deputy director-general for teacher development, Enoch Rabotapi, stressed the need for cross-sector collaboration and efficient resource coordination to integrate entrepreneurship into schooling.
“The department cannot do this alone. We need interdepartmental action and the private sector’s active role, particularly in work-integrated learning,” he said.
Rabotapi reiterated existing initiatives such as the Three-Streams Model and the General Education Certificate, noting their role in broadening learners’ post-school opportunities.
“Youth unemployment is a national emergency. If we want learners to transition successfully into society, we must teach them to innovate, not just to pass exams,” Rabotapi said.
European Union ambassador Sandra Kramer underlined the EU’s long-standing commitment to entrepreneurship education, referencing the EU’s Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and its emphasis on mindset development over simple business training.
She highlighted the March 2025 EU–South Africa Summit where a €4.7 billion investment plan was endorsed to boost key industries such as green hydrogen and pharmaceuticals that required entrepreneurial talent.
“We support entrepreneurship with what we call ‘360 support’ from mobile skill vans to small businesses financing, in partnership with multiple South African departments,” Kramer said.
She urged better use of existing Treasury funds and called for coordinated policy implementation.
“The pieces exist, we just need to align them with political will,” Kramer said.
Technical assistance team leader for the EU’s E4E programme, Andreas Schott, traced the initiative’s evolution from its 2018 inception to its current pilot projects with the Basic Education, Higher Education and Training, and Employment and Labour departments.
In Phase 2, launched in 2023, the Basic Education Department focused on institutionalising career development and entrepreneurship in schools.
Schott emphasised that interdepartmental collaboration remained critical to youth employability, especially for learners with disabilities and those from under-resourced schools.
“It’s not just about teaching skills, but about reforming the entire education-labour pipeline,” Schott concluded.
A panel discussion featuring actuary and education entrepreneur Taddy Blecher and Rabotapi reflected on the department’s entrepreneurship programme, which was launched in 2011.
Blecher described the initiative’s roots in the Human Resource Development Council’s national task team and its aim was to create an entrepreneurial mindset among all learners.
“Youth unemployment at 62% for the 18–24 age group means we need to think differently. The answer lies not in more subjects, but in more meaningful pedagogy with project-based learning, real-world problem-solving and creativity,” Blecher said.
Rabotapi acknowledged structural challenges such as overcrowded classrooms and undertrained teachers.
“Transformation isn’t just curricular, it’s systemic. We must align teacher training, infrastructure and community support to nurture entrepreneurial learners,” he said.
The first day’s discussions stressed the importance of viewing learners as confident, creative problem-solvers who were equipped to navigate and shape a rapidly changing world.
Teachers were urged to join the Project-Based Learning Programme, which positioned classrooms as hubs of innovation and social relevance.
Through ongoing policy development, capacity building and intersectoral cooperation, South Africa aims to shift from talking about change to enacting it with one learner, one school and one innovation at a time.
INSIDE EDUCATION