South Africa’s National Skills Competition will bring 151 young technical finalists together in Johannesburg, turning classroom learning into practical pathways towards future jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.
The finalists, supported by 77 teachers from all nine provinces, will compete on 1 and 2 October after progressing through a national process that attracted more than 17,000 learners at school, district and provincial level. Arrive Alive
Hosted by the Sasol Foundation and Kagiso Trust in partnership with the Department of Basic Education and industry partners, the competition is designed to give technical education the same visibility and recognition traditionally associated with academic achievement.
Most of the finalists are Grade 10 and 11 learners.
Rather than sitting behind desks writing conventional examinations, they will be required to complete practical tasks based on situations they could encounter in workshops, construction environments, engineering businesses and other workplaces.
The competition covers 11 technical specialisations, including automotive technology, computer-aided design, construction, digital systems, electrical power systems, engineering graphics and design, electronics, fitting and machining, plumbing, woodworking, welding and metalwork. Arrive Alive
Industry-led judging panels will assess how participants apply their knowledge, solve problems and complete practical tasks accurately.
That connection between what learners study at school and what employers need is one of the most important aspects of the programme.
South Africa needs more qualified artisans, technicians and technically skilled workers across industries ranging from manufacturing and construction to energy, infrastructure and increasingly technology-driven sectors.
The National Skills Competition creates an opportunity for young people to see those occupations not simply as school subjects, but as possible careers.
Thabile Makgala, Executive Vice President for People, Risk, SHE and Corporate Affairs at Sasol and a Sasol Foundation Trustee, said developing practical capability among young people is important to the country’s economic future.
“South Africa’s future prosperity depends on our ability to equip young people with the technical skills, practical experience and confidence needed to succeed in an evolving economy,” she said.
The competition also challenges a long-standing perception that technical and vocational education represents a second-choice route for learners who do not pursue traditional university degrees.
Many of the skills being demonstrated in Johannesburg can lead directly into apprenticeships, further technical study, formal employment or entrepreneurship.
A learner developing expertise in plumbing, welding, electrical systems or machining can eventually work for an established company, become a qualified artisan or build a business providing specialised services.
That means technical education can contribute to both employment and enterprise development.
Kagiso Trust CEO Dr Mankodi Moitse said the competition is intended to help learners identify their strengths while recognising the important role teachers play in developing technical talent.
“This is about more than a competition – it is about building confidence, opening pathways and investing in the potential of young South Africans,” she said.
Teachers are competing alongside learners, giving educators an opportunity to demonstrate their own technical capability and exchange knowledge with colleagues from across the country.
Kagiso Trust introduced the teacher component after joining the programme in 2022, expanding the competition’s focus from learner development to the wider technical-education ecosystem.
The initiative itself began in 2018 through the Sasol Foundation and Free State Department of Education before expanding progressively to additional provinces.
By 2024, it had become a national competition involving all nine provinces.
The scale has continued growing.
In the Western Cape provincial round alone this year, 280 learners and 70 teachers participated across technical disciplines before finalists progressed to the national stage. LinkedIn
Last year’s national competition similarly brought learners and teachers together around skills including welding, machining, electronics, electrical systems, plumbing, construction and design, with winners receiving equipment, bursaries and apprenticeship opportunities. Department of Basic Education
The programme also supports South Africa’s three-stream education model, which creates academic, technical-vocational and technical-occupational pathways for learners.
That approach recognises that different forms of ability should lead to credible education and employment opportunities.
Technical skills are particularly important as industries adopt automation, digital systems, renewable energy technologies and advanced manufacturing processes.
Tomorrow’s artisans may therefore need to combine traditional hands-on capabilities with digital literacy, problem-solving and the ability to work with increasingly sophisticated equipment.
The competition gives learners an early opportunity to develop that combination.
It could also become part of a wider pipeline towards international platforms such as WorldSkills, where young South Africans compete against skilled professionals from other countries.
South Africa’s technical skills development programmes ultimately need to do more than produce competition winners.
Their wider value lies in helping more young people move from school into further training, apprenticeships, work and businesses of their own.
The 151 finalists competing in Johannesburg represent only a small portion of the more than 17,000 learners who entered the process.
But each stage gives young people an opportunity to discover that building, designing, repairing, programming and making things can become the foundation of a viable career.
For South Africa, developing that talent is not simply an education objective.
It is part of building the skilled workforce needed to maintain infrastructure, strengthen industry, support new technologies and create the businesses and jobs of the future.
