Building the digital skills backbone for South Africa
The digital economy is expected to have 17% of the global gross domestic product in the next two years with a compound annual growth rate of 7%. Cybersecurity, AI, cloud, consulting, and outsourcing remain the biggest drivers of expenditure, according to Forrester, with the financial services, insurance, government, and media and information sectors remaining the most significant spenders. However, within this increased momentum there’s the ongoing skills shortage. Globally, there is a structural mismatch between the competencies demanded by the digital and AI-led economies and the skills available in the global labor market.
In this article we ask what companies need to prioritize as they move into a 2026 still searching for skills.
What this article answers:
- Why treating skills as infrastructure is essential for 2026 and digital growth
- How companies need to prioritize skills development alongside technology investment
- What the most in-demand skills are in South Africa right now
- How skills investment supports inclusive growth
- What a purpose-led, long-game strategy for talent looks like
Why is a living skills infrastructure a strategic asset?
Infrastructure brings to mind conversations around roads, power and fiber, but the real story is human capital. The digital economy cannot scale without the skills to operate and optimize it, and research shows that South Africa’s workforce is mismatched and unprepared. The PwC 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer found that the skills employers want within AI are changing 66% faster than other roles and, in South Africa, job numbers in generative AI has grown 32%. There’s a growing demand for skills within specialized areas, particularly AI, but the talent ecosystem in the country is ‘structurally misaligned with the AI economy.’
The skills shortage in digital, ICT and technical roles is acute so for 2026 and beyond, this means companies that view training as a cost center risk falling behind. Instead, there needs to be a strategic thinking shift towards skills as foundational infrastructure. Education, capability development and talent pipelines need to be embedded within the business and its transformation initiatives.
What must organizations do to prioritize skills?
To treat skills as infrastructure, organizations must move beyond ad hoc training and into strategic capability planning. That means aligning talent investment with business strategy, digital agendas, and transformation milestones. For example, businesses should build internal pipelines for digital roles, ensure continuous upskilling of existing teams and partner with education or training ecosystems rather than simply buying in skills. Doing so ensures that when technology changes, the organization remains adaptive, not dependent.
The most in-demand skills for South Africa’s digital economy
The most in-demand digital economy skills are reflective of the country’s fast-growing dependence on AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analytics. AI engineering and machine learning remain a high priority with PwC identifying a growing demand for AI engineers, data scientists and applied machine learning specialists. In addition, companies want skills in cyber risk and compliance, data storytelling and strategic analytics, and cloud migration and hybrid network integration.
These are skills that demand people have digital literacy, data analytics, and critical thinking while green and digital skills are becoming increasingly relevant in a transitioning economy. Companies need to focus on building hybrid skillsets which blend the technical with the human.
What a purpose-led long game looks like
In practice, treating skills as infrastructure means putting long‑term strategy ahead of short‑term fix‑measures. It involves building programmes that evolve, embedding capability in delivery projects, and ensuring training is connected to meaningful roles. It means measuring outcomes not just by technology adoption, but by people developed, roles created, and communities uplifted.
Technology gives organizations the tools to transform. But people give organizations the capacity to sustain that transformation in 2026 and beyond. If infrastructure is foundational, then skills are the core, so treat training, talent and capability development as your next big investment.
