In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, Dr Olebogeng Selebi – Deputy Director of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Future of Work (CFoW) – discusses the state of the South African labour market.

Dr Selebi holds qualifications in the fields of communications, media, and economics from the University of Graz (Austria), the University of Porto (Portugal), and the University of Milan (Italy).

She also boasts a PhD in Communication Management from the University of Pretoria, and her PhD culminated in the development of a communication framework for South Africa’s National Development Plan.

In this Business Talk interview, Dr Selebi explains why South Africa needs to narrow its skills gap.

She discusses the recent drop in graduate unemployment in South Africa, and explains why she believes this has happened.

Dr Selebi then reveals which core skills are lacking in South Africa and discusses why rectifying this is essential.

She also covers the importance of teaching soft skills at educational institutions, as well as the strategies that can be implemented to retain skilled workers in South Africa.

Dr Selebi concludes the interview by discussing the new CFoW website, highlighting its primary objectives, the CFoW’s key research areas, and how the organisation aims to drive economic growth in South Africa.