The test of a society’s character, I’ve often said, is not just in its ability to build universities and colleges but in how it raises its children.
A few weeks ago, at a skills development conference, a parent asked what more could be done to help our children gain practical skills.
My answer was simple: government must do more – but so must we, as parents, caregivers, and communities.
I often reflect on how I, like many children of the working class, learned skills not in a classroom but through the demands of daily life. As the eldest boy at home, I had to cook, clean, do the laundry, and run errands.
I learnt how to budget by buying groceries. We sold eggs, sweets, and popcorn at school – not because we were taught entrepreneurship but because we had to survive.
Yet, within that struggle, we unknowingly cultivated resilience, resourcefulness, and responsibility.
In many ways, these early lessons in responsibility laid the groundwork for much of my adult life. What we sometimes dismiss as mere household chores are, in fact, foundational tools of human development.
They teach time management, problem-solving, accountability, and self-worth. They are not minor tasks – they are cornerstones of independence and confidence.
Today, our schools and colleges do offer skills training – TVETs provide practical, hands-on courses; universities run innovation labs and entrepreneurship hubs; and CETs give adults and out-of-school youth a second chance.
The private sector is also getting more involved, and initiatives like the Youth Employment Service are linking young people to work experience.
But as we strive to bridge the skills gap, address unemployment, and prepare young people for a rapidly changing world of work, we must not overlook the foundational role played at home.
Long before a child learns algebra, they are already learning to observe, to mimic, to participate, and to problem-solve. Long before we speak of “skills pipelines”, the home is the first classroom.
Just as parents teach children to speak, walk, and use the toilet, they can also introduce basic life skills: cooking, gardening, sewing, fixing things, reading recipes, and even managing a household chore list.
These are not outdated domestic tasks – they are developmental milestones that lay the foundation for broader technical and cognitive abilities.
A friend told me recently that his nephews didn’t know how to connect a hosepipe to water the garden. It may sound like a small anecdote, but such examples speak to a wider disconnect.
“Future skills” are often spoken of in terms of coding, AI, robotics, and big data. These are indeed essential.
But future skills must also include food security, environmental awareness, care work, emotional intelligence, and manual dexterity. Not everything can be taught on a screen.
Yes, it’s true that many parents work long hours, hustle daily, and struggle with the legacies of apartheid and economic exclusion.
Some didn’t finish school themselves and feel unsure about how to guide their children. That’s real.
But even so, small acts – encouraging a child’s interest in music, dance, drawing, or sport – go a long way.
Many successful athletes, musicians, and creatives started with a parent or grandparent who believed in them, even when resources were scarce.
Government must, of course, lead. We must ensure schools have playgrounds, libraries, workshops and functioning toilets.
We must ensure colleges have trained lecturers, industry-linked curricula, and up-to-date tools. We must invest in community centres, coding clubs, youth programmes, and creative hubs.
But we must also partner with families, support parenting education and make community-based skills awareness a core part of the system.
We must also challenge harmful gender roles that persist in too many homes. Why should a boy not cook or braid hair? Why should a girl not be allowed to build a soccer field, fix a fence, or lead a debate?
Some of the monsters we confront in society – patriarchy, violence and entitlement – are bred in the very homes we think are safe.
This, too, is where skills development begins: in the unlearning of inequality.
Ultimately, we need a paradigm shift. If we want a generation of active citizens, problem solvers and innovators, we must build them from the home up.
Let our children not grow up believing that education is something that only happens behind school gates.
Let them know that learning is everywhere – in the kitchen, in the garden, on the sports field, at church, in the market and on the street.
A village must build the man and the woman. Our institutions are doing their part. Now let us all, in our homes and communities, rise to the task.
• Manamela is Deputy Minister of Basic Education
Visit SW’s YouTube Channel for our video content
