# University of Pretoria vice-chancellor and principal, professor Francis Petersen, says South Africa’s persistently high unemployment rate is a challenge that demands urgent attention from all sectors of society. In 2024, the country recorded the highest unemployment rate 32-percent among all G20 countries. The country recorded a lower unemployment rate for university graduates 8.7-percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Petersen says universities must close the gap between the skills being taught to graduates and those that employers need.
UP principle says bringing down unemployment rate requires a national, coordinated effort