A shortage of practical workplace experience is leaving Southern African businesses struggling to prepare their workforces for the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
The issue was highlighted during a panel discussion at the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) Workforce Intelligence Conference in Johannesburg on Friday.
The discussion featured presidents of national ICT professional bodies from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and Tanzania, who highlighted a disconnect between the pace of AI adoption and workforce readiness.
The 2026 IITPSA ICT Skills Survey presented during the session, revealed that the skills shortage stems less from a lack of academic graduates than from a deficit in practical experience.
A lack of workplace experience accounted for 24% of the reported skills gap, compared with 20% attributed to deficiencies in education and training.
In countries such as Botswana, technology leaders reported a significant mismatch between graduate qualifications and employment opportunities: 60% of the country's unemployed graduates reportedly hold ICT degrees, pointing to a structural gap in workplace experience.
Addressing how smaller markets can move faster to address the problem, Tshepho Bathai, president of the Botswana Information Technology Society, emphasised structural agility, faster policy development and alternative learning pathways.
"In the past few years, we have tried by all means as a nation to remove most of the red tape. Also, the Human Resource Development Council has now developed and infused micro-credentials into the way learning programmes are applied," Bathai said.
Bathai also highlighted that Botswana had developed and submitted a comprehensive national AI policy to Parliament within a year.
"What can a smaller country do on AI skills that a bigger country struggles to? Fast decision-making with regard to everything that we are doing," he added.
Addressing the gap between traditional academia and industry demands, Dr Clement Sinyangwe, president of the ICT Association of Zambia and head of ICT at Chalimbana University, stressed the need to modernise education frameworks.
“Technology is moving faster than the traditional curriculum that we offer in our universities," Dr Sinyangwe said. "Right now, it's very difficult for the traditional curriculum to catch up.”
The panellists advocated structural interventions, such as mandatory industry attachments and micro-credentials, to build job-ready talent.
Dr Freddy Ndhlovu, president of the Computer Society of Zimbabwe, argued that workplace exposure must take priority.
“For me, I would look at workplace experience. Professionals have very good certificates, but very little practice,” Dr Ndhlovu said.
The panel also explored regulatory mechanisms to ensure quality and trust as AI reshapes the profession. Zambia is among the African countries regulating ICT practice through legislation, requiring practitioners to hold a valid practising licence.
“For a corporate institution to employ a person, they have to possess that practising licence, else you can't practise," Dr Sinyangwe said. "It's evident that since they did this, we've seen a lot of ethical practising of ICTs.”
Data shared with the panel indicated that 52% of South African organisations outsource IT functions to overseas firms, while 28% actively look abroad for specialised talent. Conversely, 22% of regional ICT practitioners already work remotely for foreign clients.
Leaders questioned why African enterprises consistently look outside the continent when neighbouring technology hubs, including Lusaka, Harare, Blantyre and Dar es Salaam, have underutilised talent.
Addressing talent mobility, Dr Ndhlovu suggested reframing "brain drain" as "brain circulation" through structured remote working arrangements.
“The country that's training actually will benefit because the group or the team of workers will be the best, doing work remotely,” he said.
Closing the session, Clarence Gama, president of the ICT Association of Malawi and CEO of NICO Technologies Limited, emphasised that while AI handles routine task execution, human talent must adapt by developing uniquely human capabilities.
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