The skills we need for the retail economy we're building

Tom Mkhwanazi, CEO, W&RSETA.

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Artificial intelligence, automation , e-commerce and data are changing the way the wholesale and retail sector operates. However, this transformation is about more than technology. 

It is also changing the skills people need, creating new opportunities for innovation and opening new pathways for entrepreneurship.

The more important question for South Africa is whether we are preparing our people and businesses for the economy that is emerging.

The wholesale and retail sector is already experiencing significant change. Consumers expect greater convenience, speed and personalisation, while businesses are adopting digital platforms, automated processes and data-driven decision-making. 

At the same time, new business models are emerging and technology is changing how products reach consumers and how businesses engage with their markets.

These developments present both opportunities and challenges. For employers, the challenge is no longer simply finding people to fill existing jobs. Increasingly, it is about developing people who can adapt as those jobs change. 

For education and training institutions, it means ensuring that learning responds to an economy in which occupations and skills requirements are continuously evolving. For entrepreneurs, it means identifying new opportunities and developing the capabilities to turn them into sustainable enterprises.

This, ultimately, is what it means to reimagine wholesale and retail.

Traditional approaches to skills development have often focused on preparing people for specific occupations and defined roles. While occupational competence remains important, it can no longer be the end point.

As technology changes the tasks people perform, workers will increasingly need the ability to learn, adapt and acquire new capabilities throughout their careers. 

A retail employee may need to understand both customer experience and digital platforms, while a logistics worker may increasingly interact with automated systems and use data to improve efficiency.

This shift is also reflected in the qualifications landscape. The phasing out of legacy qualifications and the development of new and emerging qualifications signal a broader response to changing occupational requirements and the evolving nature of work.

 Qualifications must increasingly equip people with capabilities that remain relevant as technology, business models and consumer expectations change. This transition is therefore not simply about replacing old qualifications with new ones. 

It represents a shift towards a more responsive skills development system that can support people and businesses through a new era of economic and technological change.

Consequently, next-generation skills will need to combine technical competence with digital literacy, problem-solving, communication, data interpretation, creativity and continuous learning. 

The objective should therefore not simply be to prepare someone for their first job. It should be to equip people with capabilities that allow them to remain relevant as their careers and the economy evolve.

This is particularly important in South Africa, where skills development must contribute not only to productivity and competitiveness, but also to broader participation in economic opportunity. We therefore need a skills system that is responsive to employers while remaining inclusive of those seeking to enter and progress within the labour market.

Importantly, we cannot prepare people for a changing economy if we do not understand where that economy is heading.

Skills development cannot operate effectively in isolation from what is happening in the economy.

Research can help identify emerging occupations, changing skills requirements and areas where there may be gaps between the capabilities of the current workforce and those required by industry.

For the wholesale and retail sector, this intelligence becomes particularly valuable as businesses respond to digital transformation and evolving consumer behaviour.

The question should therefore not only be, “What skills do employers need today?” It should also be, “What capabilities will enable people and businesses to remain relevant tomorrow?”

Answering this requires a stronger connection between research, industry and the education and training system. It also requires us to anticipate change rather than respond only after it has occurred. Evidence and best practice must therefore become central to how the sector responds to disruption. 

The value of research is not only in identifying what is changing, but in helping us understand what works, what can be adapted and where new approaches are required. Research should ultimately move beyond the production of reports. 

Its value is realised when evidence informs decisions, challenges assumptions and contributes to practical responses that can make a difference in workplaces, businesses, communities and the wider skills system.

Innovation is often associated with new technologies. However, it is ultimately about finding better ways of solving problems, improving productivity, responding to customers and creating value.

For businesses, this could mean using data to understand consumer behaviour, adopting digital tools to improve operations or developing new approaches to supply chains and customer engagement. 

For skills development institutions, it could mean finding more responsive ways to identify skills needs, deliver learning and connect people to opportunities. For SETAs, it means using research and evidence to anticipate change and support the sector in responding to it.

The real test of innovation is therefore not whether an organisation introduces a new technology, but whether that technology or new approach produces better outcomes for businesses, workers, entrepreneurs and consumers.

Moreover, innovation does not happen in isolation. It often emerges when different ideas, capabilities and perspectives come together. This is why collaboration between employers, researchers, education and training institutions, government and entrepreneurs is so important.

The future of wholesale and retail should not be viewed only through the lens of employment. Technology is creating opportunities for individuals to start businesses, develop new services and participate in markets that were previously difficult to access. Digital platforms can lower some barriers to entry, while e-commerce is creating opportunities in areas such as digital marketing, fulfilment, logistics, customer experience and technology-enabled services.

For South Africa, this has particular relevance for SMMEs, township enterprises and informal businesses. However, encouraging people to start businesses is only one part of the equation. Sustainable enterprises need the right combination of skills, market knowledge, technology, finance, networks and access to markets.

A person with a good business idea therefore needs more than entrepreneurial motivation. They need the skills to manage the business, understand their market, use technology effectively, reach customers and adapt as the market changes. In this way, skills development, innovation and entrepreneurship are not separate agendas. They reinforce one another.

If we are serious about preparing for the economy we are building, the conversation cannot end with individual research projects or a single conference. We need an ecosystem that continues to generate, share and apply knowledge over time. 

The SETA has therefore sought to strengthen a community of practice among its strategic partners, creating opportunities for researchers, academics, employers, education and training institutions, policymakers and other sector stakeholders to collaborate, share evidence and develop responses to common challenges.

An important part of this ecosystem is creating space for new and emerging researchers. The sector needs researchers who can build new knowledge, challenge established thinking and connect their work to real industry challenges. At the same time, entrepreneurs and emerging businesses should be recognised not only as beneficiaries of skills development, but also as contributors to innovation, new business models and employment creation.

This means creating stronger connections between established researchers and emerging researchers, between research and industry, and between education and training institutions and the practical challenges facing businesses and workers. The objective is to build a research and innovation ecosystem that does not simply document change, but helps the sector understand it, respond to it and identify opportunities within it.

None of this can be achieved by one institution or sector working alone. Industry understands the commercial realities of the marketplace. Researchers provide evidence and insight into emerging trends. Universities, TVET colleges and other education and training institutions develop capabilities. Entrepreneurs identify opportunities and create new business models, while government and sector institutions help create an enabling environment.

These perspectives therefore need to connect more effectively. This is the thinking behind the W&RSETA 2026 Research Conference, which will take place under the theme:

“Wholesale and Retail Re-Imagined: Next Generation Skills, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.”

Taking place on 29 and 30 October 2026 at The Focus Rooms in Gauteng, the conference will bring together industry leaders and employers, researchers and academics, higher education and TVET institutions, policymakers, entrepreneurs and skills development practitioners to examine the forces shaping the sector and the capabilities required to respond to them.

The programme reflects the breadth of change taking place across the sector, with discussions on labour market trends, the future of work, digital and data-driven skills, smart ecosystems, consumer insights, resilient retail businesses and sustainability.

The conference is also intended to move the conversation from research findings to evidence-informed practice. The Day 2 masterclasses will extend this approach by focusing on the practical application of knowledge through retail data and business intelligence, e-commerce, and sustainability and ethics across retail value chains. 

In this way, the conference is not simply about discussing the future of wholesale and retail. It is about bringing research evidence, industry experience and emerging sector intelligence into the same conversation so that we can identify what is working, understand what needs to change and consider where new approaches are required.

The value of such a platform lies in the connections it creates. Researchers can engage directly with industry challenges. Employers can contribute practical insight into changing skills requirements. Entrepreneurs can identify opportunities emerging from disruption. Education and training institutions can translate these insights into relevant capabilities, while policymakers and sector institutions can consider how the wider system can respond.

The conference therefore represents one part of a broader effort to strengthen the sector's capacity to anticipate change, inform skills planning and support more responsive interventions. Reimagining wholesale and retail is not simply about adopting new technologies. It is about people, capabilities, ideas and opportunity. 

The retail economy we are building will require people who can adapt, businesses that can innovate and institutions that are willing to learn. It will require research that is relevant, partnerships that are purposeful and a skills system capable of responding to changes that are already underway while preparing for those still emerging.

Our responsibility is therefore not only to respond to today's skills needs. It is to help build the knowledge, capabilities and partnerships from which tomorrow's opportunities can emerge.

The future of wholesale and retail will not be defined by technology alone. It will be shaped by how effectively we bring people, knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship together. That is the conversation we need to have, and more importantly, it is the future we need to start building.