On 13 January, the largest class in South African history received their National Senior Certificate results. More than 656 000 learners passed, signalling the start of the next phase in their lives: continuing their studies or entering the job market.
With the country’s latest labour statistics showing an official unemployment rate of 31.9%, many are hoping that further qualifications will increase their chances of finding work.
But there’s a snag. Where a degree was once a relatively straightforward investment – you study, you graduate, you work – that pathway is no longer guaranteed.
The table below illustrates that while unemployment rates drop sharply with higher levels of education, they do not fall to zero.
| Unemployment rate | |||
| South Africans without a matric qualification | South Africans with a matric qualification | South Africans with vocational or technical training | Tertiary graduates |
| 51.6% | 47.6% | 37.3% | 23.9% |
Source: Statistics South Africa
Thriving economies reward graduates who can do the work that employers actually need done.
As Dr Riaan Steenberg, executive director at the NetEd Group, which includes Eduvos, argues, the real issue is not how many students the system can absorb, but what higher education ultimately produces in terms of work-ready graduates and real economic participation.
A degree offers little return on investment if the graduate cannot be absorbed into the working population.
For many families, this means that sending a child for a tertiary education feels a lot less like unlocking opportunity and more like a permanent debt trap.
The January reality check
For many households, this pressure crystallises in January. Public university outcomes are released based on final matric results, and with around only 235 000 spaces available for first-time entering students, the remaining 110 000 learners who achieved a bachelor’s pass are forced to look elsewhere.
Once a place is secured, the full cost of higher education quickly comes into focus. Beyond tuition, families must account for accommodation, food, transport and textbooks.
“What often happens is people underestimate the actual cost of having a human being live for a year and studying,” says Steenberg.
This reality check prompts students and their financial sponsors to reassess their options, even when a public university offer is on the table. This is the moment affordability stops being theoretical and becomes real.
Annually, Eduvos sees this play out in the additional applications that flood its admissions office in January; this year that figure reached 20 000.
The missing middle
Steenberg believes South Africa’s higher education system increasingly serves two groups well:
- Those funded by the state, and
- Those wealthy enough to absorb high costs.
The missing middle carries the affordability risk.
This creates an access paradox. Students may qualify academically, but affordability, over time, becomes the real barrier.
Education access is no longer only about admission. It is about staying the course without financial derailment. Under these conditions, Steenberg argues, value cannot be separated from flexibility.
That flexibility takes many forms. Converting large upfront payments into manageable monthly instalments can provide immediate relief.
Bursaries and extended loans improve access further. The ability to move from full-time to part-time study when a student finds work, or to study online while running a side hustle, reduces financial strain and keeps students moving forward.
From prestige to proof
Labour markets are tightening, meaning employers are increasingly focused on capability rather than pedigree.
Steenberg notes that in many industries, particularly those facing skills shortages, companies are fairly ambivalent about where the skilled employees are coming from, provided candidates can demonstrate the right competencies.
This does not mean institutional bias has disappeared. He acknowledges that older decision-makers often favour familiar institutions, their alma mater. But that bias is weakening as organisations prioritise productivity, adaptability and experience.
Work-integrated learning has become central to this shift.
Eduvos now has work-integrated learning as a standard across all of its degrees, and is actively prioritising off-take agreements with industry players to ensure that they become a conduit into employment.
Flexibility as risk management
Another significant shift in higher education is the move away from rigid, once-a-year entry points. For students who miss initial intakes or reassess their plans mid-year, flexibility can prevent an entire year from being lost.
Steenberg explains that Eduvos operates on a rolling intake model. “You can start four times a year,” he says, noting that later intakes have seen growth of between 30% and 50% as students choose not to wait idly for the next academic cycle.
This flexibility allows students to combine work and study, shift between full-time and part-time modes, or enter through bridging and higher certificate programmes.
In a labour market where hundreds of thousands of young people compete for entry-level roles each year, doing nothing for a year rarely improves employability.
What parents and sponsors should interrogate
Under pressure, education choices demand the same scrutiny as any major financial decision.
Steenberg suggests a small set of critical indicators:
- The total cost to completion, not just first-year fees;
- Graduation and throughput rates;
- Employment outcomes and work exposure;
- The cost of repeating modules; and
- Cancellation clauses and contractual flexibility.
“Always look for hidden fees,” he advises, adding that parents and sponsors should be realistic about the likelihood that a student may need additional time or support along the way.
Preparing for what comes next
The World Economic Forum outlines four possible futures for work in an economy shaped by AI:
- Supercharged Progress, where rapid innovation boosts productivity and creates new roles;
- The Age of Displacement, where automation outpaces reskilling and jobs are lost faster than workers can adapt;
- The Co-Pilot Economy, where humans and AI work together to improve efficiency; and
- Stalled Progress, where skills gaps limit the benefits of new technologies.
Which path countries follow depends less on the pace of technological change and more on how effectively people are prepared to work alongside it.
As Steenberg notes, AI may change how work is done, but it does not remove the need for capable, employable people. In that context, the value of higher education lies in readiness rather than prestige.
Brought to you by Eduvos.
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