For one young South African, a digital skills programme became a route into employment. For thousands more, that opportunity now depends on whether the country can unlock billions of rand in skills funding already sitting within its system. The stakes are considerable: South Africa's youth unemployment rate is among the highest in the world.

Speaking at CollectiveXChange 2026, a national digital skills and jobs summit held in Johannesburg on Thursday, Nicola Galombik, executive director of long-term investment and social-impact firm Yellowwoods, said scaling the initiative could require R2.5 billion ($152 million) from existing skills funds. She believes the funding could help an additional 20,000 young people gain digital skills and enter employment by 2028.

The estimate raises a central question: why are resources that could be mobilised from existing funds not reaching more young people?

The Collective X, which coordinates South Africa's National Digital Skills Plan, is working towards placing 500,000 young people into in-demand digital roles by 2034. Its Digital Skills Impact Fund uses an outcomes-based model to connect skills development with employment. But the funding required to scale the broader national effort is not the same as money already committed to the initiative.

Galombik said the model had been tested with employers and was ready to grow. It combines employer contributions with government skills funding, sharing the cost of preparing young people for work and giving them workplace experience. Outcomes structures of this kind tie payments to verified results, such as job placement, rather than to training delivered.

"The results are reflected in the 95% absorption rate among young people completing these work-based learning programmes," she said.

Under the model, employers provide workplace-integrated learning, while public skills funding can help subsidise wages and support workplace preparation. The approach aligns training with what businesses actually need, rather than producing graduates without clear routes into employment.

Galombik said the proposed R2.5 billion ($152 million) could come from existing resources, including the National Skills Fund, the Labour Activation Programme and other state funding mechanisms. Both are established state instruments for financing training and employment programmes. She did not present the amount as money already secured for the initiative.

"We have built the outcomes-funding mechanism. Now we need to scale it," she said, calling on employers to participate and invest in young people.

Ziaad Suleman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cassava Technologies and chair of The Collective X board, said the initiative had brought together 600 organisations, mobilised R600 million ($36.4 million) in its fund and reached 4,000 beneficiaries across all nine provinces.

"But my final point is that this is not enough. We need scale, and we can only achieve it together," Suleman said.

The figures illustrate the progress made in building a national partnership, but the next challenge is mobilising enough resources and employer participation to reach many more young people.

Rudi Dicks, head of the Project Management Office in the Presidency, said the government had been working with the private sector to test models that could improve employment outcomes.

"Resources are not necessarily the problem. The question is how we use them more effectively to achieve the best outcomes," he said.

Dicks said the partnership supports workplace-integrated learning beyond accredited qualifications, but warned that complex funding processes can deter smaller employers.

"Some businesses do not apply because they lack a human resources department to manage the process," he said.

Simplifying applications, reporting and access to incentives could help more businesses participate. The challenge is not simply making funding available, but ensuring that employers of different sizes can use it to train and employ young people.

The need to get the system working is becoming more urgent as artificial intelligence (AI) changes the skills businesses require. TechCabal reported in June that South Africa's AI skills gap was widening faster than universities could update their curricula, leaving employers struggling to find suitably skilled workers.

Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, who is joining The Collective X board, said continuous education would be essential as AI agents became more capable.

"We are no longer in a world where someone can expect to perform the same tasks throughout an entire career. Things are changing continuously," she said.

She argued that young people needed to treat education and training as an ongoing process that allows them to contribute value as technology and the economy evolve.

Evan Jones, chief executive of The Collective X, believes three priorities would determine whether the initiative could scale: aligned policy, multi-year financing that combines government and business contributions, and employers able to respond quickly to changing skills needs.

"All of this requires shared responsibility and accountability from everyone in this room and beyond," he stated.

The markers to watch next are concrete: whether money flows from the state channels Galombik named, and whether employer participation widens beyond the 600 organisations already part of the partnership.