Early 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the South African government, like all other countries affected, had to make a hard decision which was to ease into a strict lock-down regulation. South Africa opted for a hard lockdown that imposed strict curfew restrictions that only allowed certain essential sectors to operate, put greater strain on small and medium businesses, closures of schools, colleges and universities, closure of all borders, limited social gatherings, and encouraged social distancing and mask wearing as part of personal protective measures.
The pandemic struck at a time when the South African economy was already under significant strain. In 2019, economic growth was 1.5 percent, down from 3 percent in 2010. In actuality, the economy entered a technical recession in the fourth quarter of 2019. In the first quarter of 2019, unemployment reached 27.3 percent, and by the third quarter, it had risen to 29.1 percent. (Statistics South Africa).
Emerging technology can solve South Africa’s employment crisis and promote growth of the economy by investing in both our students and employees whose jobs have become obsolete as a result of digital migration which is one of the most important aspects in attaining SA's digital talent dividend. To engage in technologies such as AI, machine learning, robots, and data science, we must have the essential skills.
Given that digital jobs are not limited by geographic boundaries and can be performed anywhere, if we don't invest in local talent, new jobs will be created elsewhere and the current record of unemployment rate in South Africa will be exacerbated. In this service export scenario, a weak Rand is a positive factor and will contribute positively to GDP growth. As the division of labor between humans and machines is expected to be 50:50 by 2025, this will require a strengthening of the South African education system to generate new technological and life skills needed on a large scale to facilitate the massive transition of the workforce.
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