South Africa’s automotive sector is entering a time of rapid transformation as electric vehicles, hydrogen technologies and automated manufacturing begin reshaping how vehicles are built, serviced and maintained.
The skills required in this environment combine engineering, software, diagnostics and human creativity, and they will determine whether the country keeps pace with global change.
Preparing young people for this future cannot start at matric level; it must begin in primary school through early exposure to mechanical systems and technology-driven problem-solving.
It then needs to continue in high school through strong maths and science pathways and extend into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and industry-linked training that translate early interest into practical capability.
With youth unemployment high and many workers trained for roles that no longer match industry needs, South Africa must build a clear pathway that guides learners from their early schooling into the technical and engineering careers shaping the automotive sector’s future.
A changing industry that demands new kinds of skills
automation , diagnostics software and renewable energy technologies are already redefining daily work in automotive plants and workshops. Some manufacturers continue building vehicles manually, but many of the sector’s global leaders are shifting toward automated factories where machines carry out assembly tasks and technicians focus on monitoring systems, interpreting data and solving advanced engineering problems.
As connected vehicles become the norm, the industry will require more software developers, data analysts, cybersecurity specialists and coding expertise alongside engineers and artisans.
However, technical skill alone will not be enough. Creativity, leadership and human judgement will remain central, even as technology drives efficiency. South Africa risks falling behind if learners opt out of science and maths before they understand the opportunities these subjects unlock.
Without early encouragement and stronger guidance from parents and teachers, the country will continue to see high dropout rates in these subjects and fewer young people prepared for the qualifications demanded by the evolving vehicle production landscape.
Foundations must be laid in the earliest years of learning
Children already navigate technology-rich environments, and this familiarity creates an opportunity to introduce mechanical thinking long before subject choices begin. Simple robotics, basic mechanics and systems thinking in primary school help learners make sense of how things move and operate.
When these ideas are nurtured early, it becomes easier to build technical competence later; upskilling is far less daunting for someone who already understands the basic principles behind technology and mechanical systems.
This early grounding also smooths the transition into high school, where subject choices become pivotal. Grade 10 is a turning point in South African education, when learners decide whether they will pursue maths, science and technical subjects, which are the disciplines required for engineering and automotive careers.
Schools and parents play an important role here, guiding learners towards subjects that align with future opportunities rather than steering them away from perceived difficulty. At the same time, more visible engagement from TVET colleges and technical training providers can help shift the perception that universities represent the only credible study route.
Creating pathways that align with the sector’s future
TVET colleges are essential to building a workforce capable of supporting electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicle production, yet they are still overshadowed by universities. These colleges offer practical, industry-aligned training that can place young people directly into engineering, manufacturing and automotive environments.
As South Africa prepares for new automotive manufacturers to set up local operations and for production to shift toward renewable energy technologies, colleges will become even more important in equipping learners with the skills they will need for automated factories, advanced diagnostics and emerging fuel systems.
However, the sector also faces a significant challenge in the form of skills mismatches, with workers trained only in traditional mechanical methods becoming at risk of being left behind as factories modernise.
The solution lies in coordinated action between government, industry and educational institutions. Partnerships are already being discussed to align training programmes with the demands of modern automotive production, to expand apprenticeships and to strengthen learnerships.
This includes the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme, which is designed to create work experience opportunities for young people who are unemployed and have limited or no prior job exposure.
However, the most important shift is ensuring that preparation begins early and continues through each stage of education, so learners move steadily towards the technical careers that the future automotive sector will depend on.
A future-ready workforce starts long before the factory floor
South Africa has the ideas, the ambition and a generation already fluent in technology. What is needed now is a unified education-to-industry pipeline that nurtures early mechanical curiosity, strengthens Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics pathways, elevates TVET colleges, and ensures that training matches the demands of new-energy vehicle production.
By building these foundations from the earliest years of schooling, South Africa can develop a workforce with the practical and technical skills needed to develop, support and advance the vehicles and technologies that will shape the country’s automotive future.
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