Transport is the lifeblood of South Africa’s economy, moving goods and people across vast distances and linking the country to global markets. The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) ensures that skills development within aviation, maritime, road, and rail transport is aligned with both current labour demands and future growth. TETA supports the National Skills Development Plan 2030 by building critical capacity in logistics, safety, and advanced transport systems.

The sector faces both opportunity and crisis. South Africa’s crumbling infrastructure, port inefficiencies, and rail decline threaten competitiveness and job security, while new investments in logistics hubs, aviation growth, and green transport technologies present new possibilities. This creates the first big question, how can investment in infrastructure and logistics hubs generate sustainable jobs for unemployed youth while modernising the transport sector? Large-scale infrastructure projects, linked with training pipelines, could create thousands of jobs if designed inclusively.

A second challenge is the acute skills shortage. South Africa lacks enough aviation technicians, maritime professionals, and logistics specialists to meet current demand. This highlights the second question, what training strategies are needed to address shortages in aviation, maritime, and logistics while reducing unemployment? Stronger collaboration between TETA, TVET colleges, and private training academies is essential, ensuring that unemployed youth are channelled into these high-demand fields.

At the same time, traditional roles in rail and road transport are shrinking due to restructuring, mechanisation, and inefficiency. This brings us to the third question, in the face of retrenchments in traditional rail and road operations, how can displaced workers be transitioned into new roles in logistics, safety, and green transport technologies? Retraining and redeployment into modern logistics chains, traffic management, and environmentally sustainable transport solutions could prevent permanent job losses.

Major players such as Transnet, PRASA, and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) illustrate both the challenges and the opportunities. While inefficiencies and restructuring have led to retrenchments, growing logistics and aviation demands mean new opportunities are emerging.

The transport sector is a critical enabler of employment and competitiveness. With the right investment in infrastructure, training, and redeployment, transport can become a bridge to economic renewal and inclusive growth