Online freelancer training empowers South Africa’s youth

South Africa is blessed with a young, tech-friendly, increasingly literate, and service-oriented demographic. This demographic uniquely positions it to benefit from the rapid growth and investments in the digital economy.

Yet, youth unemployment remains a major challenge. Driven in part by the lack of marketable digital skills and inability to monetise skills through decent work. That’s why GIZ’s Digital Skills 4 Jobs (DS4J) II and the Gig Economy initiative have joined forces to introduce the Online Freelancer Training (OFT) to young TVET learners.

OFT equips youth with practical, job-ready skills to access global digital work — understanding platforms, meeting client expectations, building portfolios, pricing services, and navigating safe, decent online work.

On November 14, 2025, with in-country partners R-Labs and Kasi Catalyst, we launched OFT in Cape Town and hosted the Master Trainer Training — introducing the curriculum, methods, e-learning tools, and lessons from Morocco, India, Kenya, and Ghana.

The energy of this inspiring group of trainers reaffirmed one thing: when we invest in skills, we unlock futures. Here’s to building pathways for youth to thrive.