South Africa is pushing ahead with an ambitious infrastructure upgrade, but protective workwear giant Sweet Or warns that these plans will not be achieved without rebuilding trade skills among a shrinking talent pool.
With unemployment reaching 33.2% and critical skills shortages persisting across essential industries, the country faces contradictions that threaten its economic recovery.
While artificial intelligence is dominating the conversation about the future of work, no machine can replace the artisans who repair water systems, restore power, and keep industries running.
To help rebuild the pipeline, Sweet-Orr partnered with social enterprise RLabs to donate R2.5 million in protective workwear and safety footwear for artisan schools and training programmes.
“South Africa’s infrastructure plans are ambitious, but they will only succeed if we have skilled people to build, maintain and repair our systems,” said Denver Berman-Jacob, executive director of Sweetall.
“Technology and trade must coexist, and digital progress must go hand in hand with investment in the skilled workforce that supports our infrastructure, energy and industrial sectors.”
Despite high unemployment, the construction industry added 55,000 jobs year-on-year, proving that trade remains a key growth area.
But without urgent investment in skills development, this momentum will be lost.
AI cannot replace humans
Berman Jacob, who is currently completing his PhD at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, emphasizes that the country needs to balance innovation and inclusivity.
“AI is transforming many sectors, but no machine can replace a plumber fixing a pipe in Mowbray, an electrician restoring power after a power outage in Belleville, or a miner extracting natural resources. Skilled trades remain the backbone of this economy,” he said.
From the factory floor to a professional career Mr Berman Jacob warned that South Africa cannot afford to take a leap forward in trade in pursuit of a services-driven economy.
“These industries employ large numbers of relatively low-skilled people and force them to participate in the formal economy.
Then a ripple effect begins, with one generation working in factories and the next moving into law, accounting, and engineering. ”
Almost 30 years after democracy, inequality remains one of South Africa’s biggest challenges.
“We remain one of the most unequal societies in the world. Providing people with access to the right tools and skills is an indirect way to address poverty and inequality.”
Sweet-Orr’s on-site training school has been in operation for decades, producing thousands of graduates who work in a variety of industries.
“If we can extend this commitment beyond the factory gates to communities in Cape Town and across the Western Cape, we will be fulfilling our national responsibility,” Berman-Jacob said.
The R2.5-million distribution removes key barriers The distribution is managed through RLabs and impacts more than 65 million people in 24 countries.
The partnership will leverage RLabs’ extensive reach to distribute protective equipment to beneficiaries in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Bloemfontein, Beaufort West and Murraysburg.
This initiative targets a major barrier: the high cost of compliant personal protective equipment (PPE). “Many workplaces cannot be accessed without proper workwear,” Berman-Jacob says.
“For startups and small businesses, the costs can be prohibitive. By donating personal protective equipment, we are removing one of the barriers that prevent people from entering these industries.”
The trade sector shed 52,000 full-time jobs last quarter, but year-on-year growth in the construction sector shows resilience.
“Trade remains a key growth area, but we must act now to rebuild the skilled labor pipeline before opportunities are lost.”
Workwear as life-saving equipment In fields such as work that uses a lot of chemicals, electricity, and heat, the right workwear can be the difference between life and death.
“If you’re working in an environment with chemical spills, arc flash, or flames, the right clothing will protect you. It’s not just about compliance, it’s about survival,” said Berman-Jacob.
Handovers of protective workwear to start-ups and community organizations began in October, and distribution continues across multiple states.
