More Artisans... Schools Must Lead the Shift.

The continent is facing a brutal shortage of artisans, electricians, welders, carpenters, plumbers, and machine technicians. This shortage is not just an economic problem; it’s a curriculum problem. Schools have side-lined technical learning for decades, treating it as the backup plan for learners who “don’t perform well academically.” That stigma is costing Africa billions.

We need a new narrative: artisanry is a high-intellect discipline. It is critical thinking in motion. It is engineering translated into everyday life. And it requires learners who are confident problem-solvers, not passive absorbers of theory.

Curriculum reform must bring technical skills back into mainstream schooling, not as an isolated subject but as an integrated ecosystem. Computer rooms should sit next to fabrication labs. Maths should be linked to real construction problems. Art should connect to industrial design. Business studies should explore small-scale manufacturing and cooperatives.

This is not a luxury. South Africa is urbanizing at record speed. Infrastructure, energy, housing, transport, and digital systems depend on artisanship.

Schools are the first lever. Train educators. Build modern workshops. Tighten partnerships with industry.

The future is technical, and Africa should not be outsourcing jobs our own children could master.