Few questions worry prospective students and their parents more today than whether a university degree is still worth it.
In a country facing crippling unemployment, the rise of artificial intelligence and mounting financial pressures, prospective students and their parents are re-evaluating whether the once-coveted university degree is still worth pursuing.
Recent figures presented to the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour paint a stark picture. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 face an unemployment rate of 58.5%, while those aged 25 to 34 experience a rate of 38.4%. More broadly, the official unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 34 increased from 36.9% in the first quarter of 2015 to 43.7% in the third quarter of 2025.
The result is that millions of young people remain entirely outside the economy. Statistics South Africa estimates that roughly 3.5 million of the 10.3 million young people aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education or training. The graduate unemployment rate of persons with a bachelor's degree or higher was reported at 10.3% in February 2026.
According to Prof. Linda du Plessis, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), debates around the future of higher education often focus on immediate job prospects, but the value of a university degree extends far beyond the first position a graduate secures.
“Research consistently shows that higher education remains one of the most powerful drivers of social mobility and economic opportunity. Across socio-economic groups, individuals with university qualifications tend to earn higher lifetime incomes, with particularly strong returns for students from lower-income families. Higher education also helps to address skills shortages in several essential professions. Fields such as teaching, nursing, social work, engineering and information technology continue to require qualified graduates, and demand often extends across the country. In these sectors, a degree does not simply open the door to employment; it opens the door to mobility and opportunity,” she explains.
Yet the discussion about the value of a degree often confuses two related but very different concepts: employment and employability.
Prof. du Plessis states that employment refers to having a job at a specific point in time. It is external, offered by an organisation, and often shaped by economic conditions beyond an individual’s control. Employability, by contrast, is internal. It is cultivated through continuous learning, self-development and resilience.
This is where universities come to the fore.
“Employment may be temporary, but employability compounds over time. It represents a professional toolkit that includes disciplinary knowledge as well as broader graduate attributes such as critical thinking, problem-solving ability, communication skills, ethical judgement and intellectual flexibility. These capabilities enable graduates not only to obtain work, but to remain employed and transition between roles as industries evolve.
“Universities therefore do not simply train students for specific jobs. They prepare them for careers that may not yet exist. In a rapidly changing world, the real value of higher education lies in equipping graduates with the intellectual tools needed to navigate uncertainty and adapt to new opportunities.
“This perspective aligns closely with global labour market trends. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, creative and analytical thinking now rank among the most sought-after skills worldwide. They are followed closely by resilience, flexibility, curiosity and a commitment to lifelong learning. With nearly 40% of job-related skills expected to change by 2030, the ability to adapt and learn continuously is becoming increasingly important,” she says.
Turning to one of the defining questions of our time, Prof. du Plessis points out that rapid advances in artificial intelligence have further intensified this shift.
“In recent surveys, the proportion of technology professionals who believe AI tools could make many of their current skills obsolete increased dramatically within a single year. In such an environment, the ability to continuously learn and adapt becomes more valuable than any single technical skill. Interestingly, these are precisely the qualities that universities seek to cultivate in their graduates.
“A university degree does not necessarily make someone an expert in a specific field. Rather, it demonstrates the ability to engage with complex ideas, meet demanding intellectual challenges and master defined learning outcomes within a structured period. In the future, employers may place less emphasis on specific qualifications and greater emphasis on how individuals approach complex, ambiguous problems. Yet the process of earning a degree equips graduates precisely with the intellectual tools needed to navigate such challenges.”
At the North-West University (NWU), teaching and learning is built around a T-shaped learning approach, which combines deep disciplinary expertise with broad transferable skills. The vertical axis represents specialised knowledge in a chosen field, while the horizontal axis reflects the wider competencies needed to collaborate, innovate and lead in complex professional environments.
Prof. du Plessis adds that graduates are also encouraged to develop adaptability, resilience and an entrepreneurial mindset, alongside practical competencies such as project management.
“These capabilities are reinforced through work-integrated learning and service-learning, which expose students to real-world industry and community contexts while allowing them to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. Such experiences are vital. Studies consistently show that graduates who gain practical experience during their studies are significantly more likely to secure employment soon after graduating.”
She further notes that although short courses and micro-credentials may teach specific skills, they rarely develop the same depth of analytical ability and intellectual resilience.
“A degree is remarkably versatile. While some qualifications lead directly to specific professions such as nursing or engineering, many degrees open doors across a wide range of industries. Commerce graduates, for example, develop skills in management, finance and strategy that are applicable across sectors, while computer science graduates are increasingly in demand across the global digital economy,” she says, proposing that a university degree should not be viewed as the end of learning, but as the beginning of a lifelong journey of intellectual and professional growth.
“As former United States Senator Orrin Hatch remarked: ‘Graduation is not the end; it is the beginning.’”
As technologies evolve and industries transform, the most valuable capability is not a single skill, but the ability to continuously acquire new ones.
So, is a university degree still worth it? If it is understood that the true purpose of a degree is not a ticket to a single job, but the foundation for lifelong learning and adaptability, the answer remains a decisive ‘yes’. A degree does not automatically open every door. What it does give a graduate is something more powerful: the ability to knock on doors that others may never reach.
Prof. Linda du Plessis, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning
