Johannesburg, South Africa – February 28, 2025

At the just ended Basic Education Sector Lekgotla by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa, ADEA’s Senior Programs Officer, Shem Bodo, emphasized the critical role of industry in shaping a future-fit education system for Africa. Speaking on an expert panel titled, “Unpacking the Role of Industry in Creating a Responsive and Future-Fit Education System,” on the second day of the three-day event, Shem highlighted the urgency of empowering Africa’s growing youth population through education and industry partnerships.

With Africa’s working-age population projected to outpace the rest of the world, he underscored the need to equip young people with the requisite knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes to engage meaningfully in the workforce and society.

The case for industry-education collaboration

Shem reiterated the essence of gainfully skilling Africa’s growing youth bulge and stressed that industry has a vested interest in the training process and should actively participate in shaping training curriculum. This is to ensure that education reflects the growing skill and behavioural demands of the labour market. He outlined six important areas for engagement, including:

• Developing a skilled, relevant, and job-ready workforce.
• Investing in technology-enhanced learning and innovative pedagogies.
• Ensuring classroom practices align with future employability needs.
• Promoting accountability and transparency in education.
• Supporting relevant curricula and infrastructure for skills development.
• Enhancing data collection and utilization for evidence-based decision-making.

He also cited existing challenges that must be addressed to achieve seamless integration between the education sector and industry. For instance, the lack of standardized frameworks for industry-school partnerships has led to inconsistent outcomes, necessitating  the need for structured collaboration.

A call to action for leadership and industry

In his concluding remarks, Shem called for stronger political commitment, strategic leadership, and industry-driven support to domesticate and implement continental and regional education blueprints. He also emphasized the need for holistic approaches to addressing barriers to education, especially for disadvantaged youth; alternative learning pathways to support out-of-school children; the integration of EdTech, AI, and innovative models to bridge educational gaps and strengthening teacher training, career pathways, and professional development.

As we move towards achieving the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ADEA continues to champion strategic partnerships and policy-driven solutions to equip Africa’s youth for a brighter, more inclusive future. Our five-year strategic plan 2024 – 2028 strongly features building the education-industry alignment.

The Basic Education Sector Lekgotla is an annual high-level education forum organized by South Africa’s Department of Basic Education. It brings together government officials, education stakeholders, industry leaders, researchers, and development partners to discuss key challenges and opportunities in the education sector. The Lekgotla serves as a strategic platform to review progress in South Africa’s basic education system discuss policy priorities and reforms, share best practices and innovations and foster collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society.

Each year, the forum focuses on critical themes related to improving teaching, learning outcomes, curriculum development, infrastructure, and skills development to ensure South Africa’s education system is responsive to future needs.