Beyond the matric certificate: Why economic success starts in Grade R
Bizcommunity | 18.08.2026 20:27
In 2025, 656,415 learners matriculated with a National Senior Certificate. Yet the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey records an official unemployment rate of 33.6%, with 8.5 million people unemployed. While these figures cannot tell us where last year’s matric cohort is now, they highlight a fundamental question: what are we doing from the earliest years of schooling to equip young people not only to pass, but to participate meaningfully in the economy?
