SOUTH AFRICA’S

Meanwhile, sectors that offer employment opportunities
to lower and middle-skill workers such as agriculture,
mining, manufacturing, and wholesale and
retail trade actually shed jobs amid increasing global
competition and technological change. These growing
disparities in skills demand and supply further
disadvantage a significant segment of the Gauteng
City-Region’s labor market. 68
The Gauteng City-Region’s population is becoming
more educated, and ranks in the middle of its peer
group on post-secondary educational attainment.
Understanding this growing skills mismatch, provincial
and national governments have made the expansion
of education and training a major priority. Education
gains have been substantial in the post-apartheid era.
Compared to the nation, a higher share of Gauteng
City-Region residents possess secondary and tertiary
degrees. Indeed, in 2012 the city-region’s universities
produced over half the graduates in South Africa. 69
The region can build on this progress to further
upgrade the education, skills, and competencies of
its population to reach par with the most educated
emerging market cities. 70
Figure 28. Share of population above 15 years
old with tertiary education, 2014 or most
recent data available
Santiago
Warsaw
Istanbul
Mexico City
Gauteng City-Region
Cape Town
Shenzhen
Rio de Janeiro
Tshwane
Johannesburg
Ekurhuleni
12%
16%
16%
15%
13%
18%
21%
26%
24%
39%
39%
Source: Brookings analysis of data from Statistics SA and
Oxford Economics. Note: Shenzhen data is from 2009 and
measures share of population aged 6 years old and over;
Istanbul and Warsaw data are from 2013 measures share
of population 15+ years old that is economically active;
Rio de Janeiro data is from 2010 and measures the 10+
years old population; and Mexico City data are from 2010.
All other data measure the population aged above 15
years old and are from 2014.
“Between 2000 and 2014, the city-region added new jobs
at a clip of 1.3 percent annually. The two sectors that
created the most new jobs—financial and business services
(4.6 percent annually) and public services (3.3 percent)—
generally demand high levels of skills.”
BROOKINGS
METROPOLITAN
POLICY
PROGRAM
26