South Africa’s manufacturing sector faces a hidden crisis: skilled artisans exist, but the current system fails to recognise or leverage their competence effectively. On factory floors from Pietermaritzburg to Johannesburg, operators and setters perform highly skilled, complex tasks without holding formal certifications. Yet these workers keep production lines running efficiently, often resolving machine issues or optimising processes in ways manuals and certificates do not capture.

The current SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) system has been found to be costly and inefficient. A substantive artisan certification can cost R388,052, more than a university degree, yet less than half of manufacturers report having the skilled workforce needed. Revenue has risen while certifications have fallen, highlighting a growing 'outcomes problem' in the skills development system.

Success has historically been measured by programme enrolment rather than actual skill application on the floor.

This creates a mismatch: businesses face skill shortages, but employees capable of performing complex tasks are invisible to policymakers and HR systems because their ability isn’t documented formally.

The Manufacturing Indaba 2026 will focus on this artisan shortage, highlighting that the instinct to fund more courses and enrolments does not address the underlying issue: recognising and tracking competence in real-time where work occurs.

Digitisation offers a solution. Frontline digital systems can integrate training, rostering, payroll, and competency tracking. When employees log faults, fixes, or safety checks through such systems, the data serves both as audit proof and as a live map of workforce capability.

• Managers gain visibility into which competencies are strong, which are thinning, and which require immediate attention.
• Youth and entry-level employees can demonstrate skills in practice, creating clearer pathways for promotion and recognition.
• Companies can retain institutional knowledge, especially as experienced artisans near retirement, ensuring continuity of production skill.

The article argues that South Africa does not need to spend significantly more on industrial skills. Instead, recognising existing competence digitally allows manufacturers to retain skilled workers, improve workforce planning, and build the next generation of artisans efficiently.

Key takeaway: Measuring skill where it is applied – on the factory floor – rather than relying solely on certificates, enables manufacturers to unlock hidden talent, improve production efficiency, and support youth employment.

Image suggestion: South African packaging line with operators performing tasks, overlaid with digital dashboards tracking competence and skills in real time.