#BizTrends2026 | SA Business School's Anton Visser: The changing face of learning and development

Anton Visser, COO of SA Business School

In 2026, CHROs are standing at the crossroads of three powerful forces reshaping learning and development (L&D) and skills development in South Africa:

• Structural shifts in the South African labour market,
  
• Global AI-driven disruption, and
  
• Intensifying regulatory and transformation pressures at home.

Here we unpack how these forces will shape how organisations and CHROs develop their skills development strategies and talent pipelines in the year ahead.

Trend #1: Skills, unemployment and the national development agenda

South Africa enters 2026 with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Official unemployment sits at around 32.9%, with youth unemployment (15–34) at roughly 46% – meaning almost one in two young people in the labour market cannot find work. This is not just a social crisis; it is a defining mega-trend shaping every serious L&D strategy in South Africa.

Government policy recognises that workplace-based learning is central to solving this problem. The National Skills Development Plan (NSDP) 2030 explicitly prioritises expanding workplace learning opportunities, identifying critical skills at sector and local level, and aligning training investments with economic priorities.

The National Skills Fund’s 2025–2030 plan reinforces the same direction: more structured pathways into occupations in high demand, supported by occupational programmes and learnerships.

For CHROs, the message is clear: in 2026, learning and development is no longer a “nice-to-have” HR function. It is a strategic lever to:

• Tackle youth unemployment and skills mismatches.
  
• Support the National Development Plan’s vision of “an educated, skilled and capable workforce”.
  
• Build resilient organisations and people who can compete in a volatile, tech-driven economy.
  
• Support transformation objectives and B-BBEE.

This is where learnerships and skills programmes are an essential bridge between policy and practice - converting national objectives into real qualifications, real work experience and real employability.

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Trend #2: The rise of skills-based organisations and AI-powered learning

In South Africa and globally, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has made e-learning more accessible. At the same time, with human beings as the undeniable priority, the focus is on long-term, sustainable L&D. Trends that are influencing L&D include:

• A shift from instructor-led training to hybrid digital solutions - AI, gamification, microlearning, adaptive learning, social learning, using AI to personalise learning, surface relevant micro-content and provide performance support in the flow of work.
  
• Recognising the importance of learner-centric and personalised learning that allows learners to take ownership of their development journey, while giving them relevant, timely, and contextualised feedback and support.
  
• Integrating learning into the flow of work, by embedding opportunities and resources into daily tasks and workflows.
  
• Using data and analytics to measure and improve outcomes.
  
• Aligning learning with business strategy and goals, to ensure that it contributes to KPIs and ROI.

Technology has unlocked a new era. For one thing, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are gaining traction, offering immersive learning to simulate real-life scenarios.

Trend #3: Meeting regulatory demands and driving transformation

In the context of skills, unemployment and the national development agenda, technology and innovation in L&D has huge potential. Consider increased accessibility, data-driven insights, and a culture of inclusive learning and the impact it has on skills development in the context of the B-BBEE scorecard:

1. Increased accessibility and reach

   Blended learning methods like e-learning modules, webinars, and video tutorials can overcome geographical barriers, allowing companies to train employees and learners across diverse locations, time zones, and schedules.

2. Enhanced data tracking and reporting

   Learning management systems (LMS) can log participation, assess progress, and generate the reports that are essential for B-BBEE verification and audits. Tracking and reporting on training activities, workplace experience and outcomes strengthens compliance.

3. More inclusive learning cultures

   Employees with different learning styles - and those who are differently abled - can access content that suits them, in manners that suit them, when it’s possible for them. This promotes more egalitarian participation and opportunity.

4. Building diverse, engaged workforces

   Ongoing L&D empowers individuals to adapt to changing business needs and to contribute more powerfully.

5. Talent acquisition and retention

   A robust and flexible learning culture helps employer brands to attract and retain top talent. This benefits overall business performance, obviously, but it also contributes B-BBEE points towards skills development and employment equity.

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For CHROs, this means 2026 is not just about “spending the skills budget” to tick compliance boxes. The real value lies in integrating your L&D investment into a coherent workforce and transformation strategy, where:

• SDL and B-BBEE spend are used as investment capital in scarce and critical skills.
  
• Learnerships are designed and sponsored to feed real jobs pipelines – contact centre roles, supervisors, data analysts, artisans, finance and risk professionals, and so on.
  
• Skills programmes are deployed surgically to close gaps in existing teams and support career mobility and growth.
  
• All L&D investment must start with skills diagnostics and pipeline mapping: What are the roles and capabilities your organisation will need in three to five years, and how can L&D programmes be combined to build those capabilities in a cost-effective, compliant way?

What CHROs should watch for in 2026

Zooming in, several micro-trends will show up in the day-to-day decisions of CHROs and L&D teams in 2026 and beyond.

1. Learnerships as a core youth employment strategy – not a side project

Research consistently shows that structured, work-integrated programmes like learnerships help young people gain skills faster and improve their chances of employment.

In a labour market where youth unemployment trends above 45%, CHROs can expect growing internal and external pressure to scale youth-focused learnerships as well as absorption.

In practice, this means:

• Designing multi-year learnership pathways that move youth from entry level roles to supervisory and specialist roles.
  
• Linking learnership cohorts to real vacancies and absorption – not “train and hope”, but “train for placement”.
  
• Leveraging learnerships as part of an integrated early-talent development strategy.

2. The strategic use of skills programmes for rapid reskilling

Skills programmes - shorter, focused interventions - are becoming the CHRO’s favourite tool for agility:

• Quickly reskilling teams for new technologies and addressing specific skills gaps that hold back career progression.
  
• Building transversal “power skills” like communication, problem-solving, digital fluency, customer centricity and change management.
  
• Supporting internal career mobility - for example, moving high-potential agents into team leader and management roles or operations staff into data-enabled roles.

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3. Proving value: L&D under sharper scrutiny

There is renewed focus on demonstrating the value and impact of learning. In 2026, CHROs can expect:

• Boards asking tougher questions on the ROI of learnerships and training
  
• Greater emphasis on completion rates, progression, promotion and retention of learners as well as absorption.
  
• Closer tracking of performance metrics before and after interventions

This is where partnerships with professional and accredited training providers matter. Providers are no longer only expected to bring accredited L&D programmes, but also data, dashboards and evaluation frameworks that help CHROs tell a credible value story – to executives, regulators and verification agencies.

4. Human skills in an AI world

Even as AI upskilling accelerates globally, employers and learning platforms report that “soft” skills – critical thinking, resilience, adaptability, collaboration and curiosity - remain in strong demand.

For South African organisations navigating uncertainty, these human capabilities remain essential. The implication is that every skills development programme needs a human-skills layer:

• Learnerships that include modules on problem-solving, emotional intelligence and building resilience.
  
• Management development that equips leaders to coach, give feedback and lead hybrid, AI-enabled teams.
  
• Skills programmes that explicitly address change resilience and learning agility to fill evolving and critical skills gaps.

2026 is the year CHROs must connect the dots:

• Between transformation imperatives and day-to-day talent decisions.
  
• Between global trends (AI, skills-based organisations, value-driven L&D) and local socio-economic realities (B-BBEE and high youth unemployment).
  
• Between building formal talent pipelines and agile interventions that keep the workforce relevant.

The organisations that win in 2026 and beyond are those that treat skills development not as an annual compliance exercise, but as a strategic L&D operating system that converts regulatory and transformation compliance and social obligations into competitive capability, employability and growth.

For CHROs, the challenge – and opportunity – in 2026 is to design that L&D operating system deliberately, with the right partners, programmes and metrics in place.