Cassim tells CATHSSETA to take skills training to the rural towns it keeps missing
The Deputy Minister in Higher Education and Training wants community colleges and learning centres used to reach learners held back by transport, money and distance, and says training must keep up with digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim has called for skills development to be pushed into underserved communities, using Community Education and Training colleges and Community Learning Centres as the route in.
He made the call in a keynote address at the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) Accounting Authority stakeholder engagement session in Cape Town on Thursday, according to SAnews (South African Government News Agency).
Cassim said community-based training can help connect learners to economic opportunities in tourism, hospitality, cultural enterprises and small businesses, particularly in rural areas where formal employment opportunities are limited. The point of the programmes, he said, is that the chances skills development creates must also reach South Africans facing geographical, financial and other barriers to taking part.
“This is particularly important in rural communities and areas where formal employment opportunities are limited. Learners do not all have the same access to transport, technology, infrastructure, or proximity to employers. Our programmes must take these realities into account,” he said.
The Deputy Minister asked CATHSSETA to look for practical models of collaboration that answer local needs, and said working with community education and training colleges and community learning centres can extend how far skills development reaches.
He also called for training programmes to respond to changing skills requirements driven by digitalisation, artificial intelligence and evolving consumer expectations. In tourism and hospitality, he said, digital marketing, online booking platforms and data analytics are changing how businesses operate, while conservation, arts, culture and heritage, and gaming and lotteries face emerging skills needs.
“The gaming and lotteries environment is also changing, increasing the importance of capabilities such as data analytics, cybersecurity, and digital platform compliance. This is why sector skills planning must be an ongoing exercise, informed by evidence and regular engagement with industry,” Cassim said.
He argued that new technical demands do not replace the basics. “Being future-fit does not mean abandoning foundational capabilities. Communication, critical thinking, leadership, problem-solving and customer service will remain essential. It means combining these foundations with the technical and digital skills that emerging working environments demand,” he said.
The source material is SAnews’s summary of the Deputy Minister’s address rather than a full transcript of it, and it records the call he made to CATHSSETA rather than any commitment the authority gave in response. The address was delivered on Thursday, 23 October 2026.
The canonical source is https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/cassim-calls-skills-training-reach-underserved-communities
