As of September 2025 , the unemployment rate is 33.2 % with youth unemployment (age 15-34) at 46.1 %; that's 8.4 million unemployed people. These are alarming statistics for any South African. With the ever-increasing unemployment rate in South Africa, positioning yourself for in-demand jobs and skills is crucial for your future.

We looked at various sources, including LinkedIn, Indeed, PNet, CareerJunction, Career24, and government websites, to try and shed light on in-demand jobs and skills for the last quarter of 2025 and the year of 2026. We recommend using this blog in unison with other sources to determine the best-fit career for you.


IT & Software development

The technology world has had an increasing demand for the last 10 years, so for most, this does not come as a surprise. The best thing about this sector is that there are jobs that do not require a degree but certification. AWS, Microsoft, Google, and IBM are just some of the few companies that offer professional certification that can land you a job in this field. If you want to go the university route but are not particularly interested in getting a degree in computer science, IT, or related fields, universities like Cape Town University, the University of South Africa, the University of Johannesburg, and Wits University offer short courses tailored for this tech market.


Health care workers

For any country, a functioning health care system is crucial; unlike the tech field, for most of this field, they require you to at least have a university degree or diploma. So if you're planning to be a doctor or nurse, you'll need to have a degree or diploma. But there are health care jobs that are in demand and only require certifications. Jobs like home-based care worker (assist patients with daily living: hygiene, meals, mobility, or basic health monitoring under supervision) only require 6-12 months of training; a SETA-accredited caregiver certificate is common. Other jobs with similar requirements include medical records technician (managing medical records, data entry, coding, archiving patient info, etc.) and health informatics certificate (using ICT tools, handling health information, supporting care via tech, and information retrieval). One thing to look for in these fields is accreditation by relevant bodies like SETA, HPCSA, or national certificate bodies.


Chartered accountants and actuaries

CAs help firms keep track of their money and make sure they follow tax and financial rules. Actuaries, on the other hand, are experts in figuring out how much risk there is, especially in fields like insurance and investments. THis is a filed that's in demand and will likely also be in high demand for the next decade. This field requires you to have a relevant degree and passed the accrediting body's exams.


Engineering and mining

South Africa is one of the biggest players in the global mining industries. It is one of the top producers of South Africa and one of the world’s top producers of:Platinum group metals (PGMs) (largest producer globally) Gold (once the largest, still significant) Coal (key for power generation) Manganese (top global supplier) Chromium, iron ore, and diamonds. This means there's a high demand for engineers in this field. The mining industry employed over 450,000 people in 2024-2025, with this number expected to continue increasing.


This is just some of the few in demand job, to choose a career do more research and see which career fit better