“Learners and their parents may be grappling right now with choices in post-schooling training and skills development while factoring in the impact of rapidly evolving AI. 
Fortunately, there are some key pointers to help future-proof their decision-making,” says prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, director and executive academic head of the Academy for Environmental Leadership South Africa (AEL). 
He has timed his comments to coincide with the announcement of the 2025 matric results that will decide which young South Africans will be eligible to enter tertiary institutions this year, and the directions of study for which they are best eligible. 
Van Huyssteen says the importance of conservation ecology cannot be overstated in identifying long-term study and career paths, with the World Economic Forum, for example, having identified climate change mitigation as a key focus area for businesses worldwide. “Strategic environmental management is a critical growth area, making environmental studies so vital globally. But it’s important to recognise that attending university is not always the most appropriate first step, nor necessarily the only route in preparing for a career in the environmental field and in conservation ecology.”
He identifies agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, IT, certain manufacturing sectors and logistics as just some of the areas linked to environmental sustainability. “Depending on the sector and the entry point, there will be a growing demand for skills across a range of levels and areas of specialisation within the environmental sustainability landscape, necessitating a variety of learning channels.
“While the democratisation of tertiary education in South Africa over the past 30 years has been vital and laudable, it has also given rise to some misplaced expectations about academia and the way in which it can deliver work opportunities. Certainly, tertiary education does improve job prospects, but it doesn’t guarantee employment. 
“We know from Stats SA that in the first quarter of 2025 the country’s overall official unemployment rate was 32.9%, although some commentators believe this figure to be higher. Amongst university graduates specifically, the unemployment rate rose from 8.7% at end of 2024 to 11.7% for the first quarter of 2025.
“These figures suggest that graduates are struggling to find formal employment, perhaps with the exception of those sectors pertaining to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). So, while having a degree may still offer better job chances than other qualifications, educationalists are looking beyond universities in helping young people to upskill, find and retain gainful employment.”
At the same time, South Africa is battling to accommodate eligible university students. “Government has identified at the most, approximately 235 000 first-year places are available at public universities this year. We know from the immediate past years, that more than 337 000 matriculants achieved a Bachelors pass; this is in excess of 100 000 additional students will be applying for these places.” 
He says the AEL offers matriculants a nationally accredited, government-endorsed in-residence programme that is certified to NQF Level 5. Taught by a team of highly skilled environmentalists and scientists, the course includes introductory field and laboratory work studies in biology, ecology, sustainability, soil science, chemistry, physics, geography, social sciences, and environmental risks and law, as well as in data gathering and management. Students are also exposed to climate processes, pollution sources, and waste management. Additionally, they are trained in life skills such as personal development, communications and conflict management.
He says AEL’s higher certificate in conservation ecology is designed as a career-focused qualification fit for future in demand jobs. For some, it will be a highly structured year that serves as a stepping-stone to university. For others it will be the work-readiness springboard for their careers. “The programme touches base with industries such as agriculture, game farming, forestry, mining, solar and wind farming, ecotourism, nature reserve management, alien plant control and law enforcement”.
Those eligible for AEL require a National Senior Certificate (NSC), or equivalent, with a Higher Certificate pass. 
AEL’s campus is based on a 21ha farm on the banks of the Orange River at Uizip, close to Upington in the Northern Cape. “This region, also known as the Kalahari, is classified as semi-desert and has its own pristine natural beauty. The vast array of biological diversity this unique location offers, make this one of the world’s finest living laboratories in which to study conservation and the effects of climate change.”
For more information on the curriculum, tuition and bursary eligibility, go to https://afel.co.za/.