South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis deepened in the second quarter of 2026, with youth unemployment rising to 47,4%, according to Statistics South Africa. Graduate unemployment also reached 12,4%, highlighting a growing challenge for the country: ensuring that education gives people a viable route into the labour market.
Against this backdrop, HyperionDev’s 2025 Graduate Outcomes Report provides a snapshot of the earning outcomes associated with its technology skills programmes. Its South African graduates report average monthly earnings of R45 000 – more than double the R22 000 average for junior software engineers.
For the company’s founder and CEO Riaz Moola, the findings highlight the importance of closing the gap between education and employment.
“A qualification is an important foundation, but we also need to think about whether people leave education with the practical skills they need to navigate the workplace. As technology reshapes the labour market, that connection between education and employment is becoming increasingly important.”
The question of access is particularly relevant for women, who continue to face higher levels of labour-market exclusion. In Q1 2026, 39,2% of young women aged 15 to 24 were not in employment, education or training, compared with 36% of young men.
At the same time, women account for 36,38% of graduates who disclosed their gender, compared with a global benchmark of 28,2% for women in technology roles.
Moola believes that widening access to digital skills can help create more pathways into technology careers, regardless of where someone started.
“Technology careers don’t have to be reserved for people who started out in technology. We’re seeing people come into these programmes with very different backgrounds and use digital skills to change the direction of their careers. That kind of mobility is important in a country where so many young people are struggling to find a foothold in the labour market.
“We need to make sure that what people learn gives them a meaningful opportunity to participate in the economy,” he adds. “As technology continues to reshape jobs across industries, practical digital skills can give people another route to employment, career progression and, importantly, the ability to adapt as the world of work changes.”