Southern Africa’s struggle to prepare workers for AI stems less from a shortage of graduates than from a lack of practical workplace experience, according to the 2026 IITPSA ICT Skills Survey and the heads of five regional ICT professional bodies.
Presented at the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa’s Workforce Intelligence Conference in Johannesburg, the survey found lack of workplace experience accounted for 24% of the reported skills gap, against 20% attributed to gaps in education and training.
The panel brought together the presidents of ICT professional bodies from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and Tanzania.
Certificates without practice
“Professionals have very good certificates, but very little practice,” said Dr Freddy Ndhlovu, president of the Computer Society of Zimbabwe.
In Botswana, a reported 60% of unemployed graduates hold ICT degrees, pointing to a gap between qualifications and jobs.
Dr Clement Sinyangwe, president of the ICT Association of Zambia and head of ICT at Chalimbana University, said universities can’t keep up. “Technology is moving faster than the traditional curriculum that we offer in our universities,” he said.
Panellists backed mandatory industry attachments and micro-credentials to build job-ready talent.
Small countries, faster decisions
Tshepho Bathai, president of the Botswana Information Technology Society, said Botswana has cut red tape and built micro-credentials into its learning programmes through the Human Resource Development Council. He said the country developed and submitted a national AI policy to Parliament within a year.
“What can a smaller country do on AI skills that a bigger country struggles to? Fast decision-making with regard to everything that we are doing,” he said.
Licensing practitioners
Zambia requires ICT practitioners to hold a practising licence by law. “For a corporate institution to employ a person, they have to possess that practising licence, else you can’t practise,” Sinyangwe said, adding that it has improved ethical practice.
Looking abroad instead of next door
Data shared with the panel showed 52% of South African organisations outsource IT functions overseas and 28% look abroad for specialised talent, while 22% of regional ICT practitioners already work remotely for foreign clients.
Panellists questioned why African companies look beyond the continent when hubs such as Lusaka, Harare, Blantyre and Dar es Salaam have underused talent.
Ndhlovu proposed reframing “brain drain” as “brain circulation” through structured remote work. “The country that’s training actually will benefit because the group or the team of workers will be the best, doing work remotely,” he said.
Closing the session, Clarence Gama, president of the ICT Association of Malawi and chief executive of NICO Technologies, said that as AI takes on routine tasks, workers must develop distinctly human capabilities.
