Are some qualifications more future proof than others?

South Africa’s latest unemployment figures once again highlight the challenges facing graduates hoping to enter the workforce. Increasingly, a tertiary qualification alone is no longer a guarantee of employment.

According to Statistics South Africa’s Q2 2026 Quarterly Labour Force Survey, graduate unemployment increased by 0,2% over the previous quarter. The latest figure stands at 12,4%.

This raises an uncomfortable question. If this trend in graduate unemployment continues, what more is needed to kickstart a successful career? According to the latest BrandMapp survey, almost 50% of South African students living in households with R10k+ monthly income worry that their tertiary education is not adequately preparing them for the careers they want.

Qualifications remain essential, but employers are increasingly looking beyond academic achievement to focus on what graduates can actually do in the workplace. Across industries, skills-based hiring is gaining momentum as organisations seek graduates who can communicate effectively, collaborate with others, adapt to change, solve problems and contribute to organisational success from the outset.

This growing emphasis on employability reflects a broader shift in how organisations are defining practical workplace capability. It’s moved beyond presentation and executive functioning. A successful entry into the workplace increasingly depends not only on what graduates know, but on how capable they are when it comes to applying that knowledge in complex, fast-changing and diverse environments. This capability is represented by a particular skills-set that not all graduates get the chance to develop while studying.

According to Carlyn Perils, lecturer on SACAP’s Bachelor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology programme, this is precisely where Industrial and Organisational Psychology (IOP) has become increasingly valuable. Sitting at the intersection of psychology and business, the discipline equips graduates to understand the human factors that influence organisational performance while helping businesses create workplaces where employees can thrive.

She says: ” Unlike many business qualifications, our IOP programme focuses on understanding human behaviour within the workplace. Career readiness for our graduates means having the skills to balance organisations’ effectiveness and efficiency with individuals’ wellbeing and the long-term sustainability of work.”

IOP is the only field of psychology that focuses on assessing and providing intervention at the individual, group and organisational levels. This perspective enables graduates to examine how decisions are made, how effectively organisations communicate, how teams collaborate, and where systems or organisational dynamics may be preventing people from performing at their best.

The skills that IOP graduates possess can help shape modern organisations in several ways including leadership development and strategic decision-making, fostering collaboration across diverse, including remote, teams, as well as employee retention and wellbeing.

More than workplace-ready

Many higher education programmes promise to produce workplace-ready graduates. SACAP believes the difference lies in how its IOP programme combines psychological theory with practical workplace experience. “SACAP’s IOP degree provides students with a foundation in industrial psychology principles, human behaviour, as well as a focus on work-integrated learning where students get practical workplace exposure,” says Carlyn.

She explains that the value comes from a deliberate progression from theory to applied workplace psychology to real-world practice. The work-integrated learning component means graduates arrive with applied experience from a real organisational setting, which reduces the workplace readiness gap that many employers complain about with purely theoretical degrees.

“For organisations, hiring these graduates means access to research-literate, ethically grounded practitioners who can help address workplace issues such as engagement, change resistance and wellness across Human Resources (HR), organisational development and psychometrics,” she says.

Understanding careers in a changing world of work

IOP studies also equip graduates with a strong understanding of career development and employability. This enables them not only to support the growth and retention of employees within organisations but also navigate their own careers in volatile times.

Carlyn says IOP graduates gain transferable capabilities that are valuable across most industries. “We view transferable skills as core behavioural and cognitive competencies such as problem-solving, emotional intelligence and data synthesis,” she explains. “This helps professionals reframe past experiences, adapt to new roles and market themselves across completely different sectors. It assists with ensuring employability in our current labour market.”

AI is changing the workplace. People still drive change.

AI is transforming workplaces at remarkable speed, but successful adoption is about far more than implementing new technology. Organisations also need to help people understand, trust and embrace new ways of working. By understanding the psychology of change, IOP graduates are equipped to support organisations that are navigating continuous digital transformation while improving employee wellbeing, engagement and resilience.

“As we adapt to increasing use of AI in the workplace, our graduates can assist with the change management process needed at both the individual and organisational levels,” says Carlyn. “Digital transformation has resulted in a fear of job displacement, AI anxiety and change burnout. This has heightened the organisational need for skilled employees who can help mitigate the negative consequences of disruption while guiding organisations to use AI ethically.”

Industrial and Organisational Psychologists also contribute by designing reskilling programmes, supporting learning and development, and helping organisations build cultures where employees learn to work alongside AI rather than resist it.

A qualification with broad career opportunities

The combination of psychological insight, business understanding and practical workplace experience means that SACAP’s IOP graduates have a choice of careers immediately after completing an undergraduate degree.

Graduates can pursue careers in human resources administration, talent acquisition, employee wellness, learning and development, organisational development and change management, while also being well-positioned to continue into postgraduate study and professional registration as Industrial and Organisational Psychologists.

According to Carlyn, the qualification’s versatility is rooted in a psychologically literate skills set that includes complex problem-solving, social perceptiveness, empathy, facilitation, strategic thinking, research and data analytics.

She concludes: “As organisations continue to evolve through digital transformation and changing stakeholder expectations, the demand for graduates who understand both people and organisations is only expected to increase.”