09, July 2026

Suprise Fakude

4 minute read

On 9 July 2026, business leaders, HR professionals, Skills Development Facilitators and Learning practitioners came together online to explore one of the biggest questions facing organisations today: how do you build a workforce that’s ready for the future?

The answer wasn’t a single technology, another compliance process or a new training programme. Instead, the conversation centred on something far more important, how organisations can rethink workforce planning in a world where AI is changing the nature of work, skills requirements are evolving faster than ever, and continuous learning has become a business imperative rather than a nice-to-have.

Across three thought-provoking sessions, industry experts shared practical insights on moving beyond compliance, preparing employees to work alongside AI and building long-term workforce capability. Although each speaker approached the topic from a different perspective, they all arrived at the same conclusion: organisations that invest in people today will be far better equipped to navigate tomorrow’s challenges.

Here’s a recap of the key insights shared during the webinar.

Plan Early, or Pay Later

For many organisations, workforce planning follows the same annual routine. Workplace Skills Plans are submitted, Annual Training Reports are completed, Employment Equity targets are reviewed, and B-BBEE requirements are met. Once compliance deadlines have passed, workforce planning often moves to the background until the following year.

During her session, Anusha Mariemuthu challenged organisations to rethink this approach. Her message was clear: compliance should be the outcome of good workforce planning, not the purpose of it.

Business priorities don’t change once a year, and neither do the skills organisations need to remain competitive. Developing future capability takes time, which means businesses need to plan years ahead rather than reacting when skills shortages already exist.

She encouraged organisations to shift their thinking from annual training plans to long-term workforce strategies that support business growth, transformation and succession planning.

Another important point was how organisations measure the success of learning. Too often, the focus is on the number of learners trained, certificates awarded or budgets spent. While these are useful indicators, they don’t show whether learning has strengthened the organisation.

The more important questions are:

• • Has productivity improved?
  • Are employees ready for future roles?
  • Are leadership pipelines becoming stronger?
  • Is the organisation reducing critical skills gaps?

These are the measures that demonstrate whether learning is creating real business value.

One of the strongest themes from Anusha’s presentation was that organisations should stop treating Skills Development, Employment Equity, Talent Management and Succession Planning as separate activities. When these functions work together, workforce planning becomes a strategic advantage rather than a compliance exercise.

Looking Into the Future

Artificial intelligence is changing the way work gets done, but Stefan Lauber argued that the conversation shouldn’t focus solely on whether AI will replace jobs. Instead, organisations need to ask how they can prepare people to work effectively alongside it.

AI is already capable of performing tasks such as research, drafting reports, analysing information and managing workflows. As these technologies continue to develop, the value people bring to the workplace will increasingly lie in judgement, creativity, leadership and decision-making.

One concept that stood out was the idea of the “Centaur professional.” Rather than competing with AI or relying on it completely, future-ready professionals will know how to combine human expertise with AI capability. Technology can handle repetitive work, while people remain responsible for critical thinking, context and accountability.

Stefan Lauber also highlighted an important challenge for employers. As AI automates more routine work, organisations may be tempted to reduce entry-level positions. While this may deliver short-term savings, it also removes the opportunities where future professionals gain experience, develop judgement and prepare for leadership roles.

The organisations that succeed won’t simply be those adopting AI the fastest. They’ll be the ones investing in people who know how to use it effectively.

Turning Strategy Into Action

The final session shifted the discussion from strategy to implementation. Knowing that workforce planning needs to change is one thing. Building the systems to make that change happen is another.

Joel Perry introduced iFundi’s Future-Ready Workplace Support Framework, which helps organisations take a structured approach to workforce transformation. Rather than relying on isolated training initiatives, the framework encourages organisations to begin by understanding their current workforce, identifying future capability requirements and developing learning pathways that align with business objectives.

Joel Perry also addressed some of the common challenges organisations face when introducing digital skills, including resistance to change, generic training programmes, poor workplace application and limited measurement of training outcomes.

He also introduced the iFundi Skills Planner App, which brings together Workplace Skills Plans, skills inventories, competency mapping, career planning and personal development into one connected platform. By digitising skills development planning, organisations can move beyond disconnected processes and create a more strategic approach to workforce capability.

His message was that successful workforce development isn’t about delivering more training. It’s about delivering the right learning to the right people, at the right time, and ensuring that learning translates into improved workplace performance.