A lot can be said about the skills required for the fourth industrial revolution and the urgent need to upskill and reskill workers across industries. Increasing automation will undoubtedly shift the skill profi les of the jobs of tomorrow. The latest World Economic Forum “Future of Jobs” Report predicts that by 2025, automation will displace 85 million jobs and create 97 million new jobs. The most in-demand roles in future job markets, listed in the report, include AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Data Analysts and Scientists, Software and Application developers, Robotics Engineers as well as Digital Transformation Specialists. Other future jobs include Information Security Analysts and Internet of Things Specialists, with Product Marketing, Digital Marketing and Software Development Lifecycle among the core set of specialised skills required for emerging professions. Moreover, the report showed an emphasis on applicable skills over traditional qualifi cations, with a business culture of growth and continuous learning fast becoming a standard to developing a sustainable skills pipeline in the workplace. To secure such a pipeline in Africa the private sector needs to be bolder when investing in future skills programmes. Skills levies, Economic and Supplier Development investments must be directed towards the future capability needs of key sectors. There has to be a mind-set change, from spend to investment, and this needs to be linked with the future needs of not only the company, but the greater societal and economic sector. In the context of the digital economy, we have barely scraped the surface in terms of scope of opportunity