The concept of ‘scarce skills’ features prominently in South Africa’s national development
discourse. Over the past decade, the ‘scarce skills’ concept has been used to frame debate about
the relationship between post-school education and training and the economy. In this article, we
compare education policy documents articulating ‘scarce skills’ perspectives with plans from four
occupational sectors and general labour market data and analysis. In our analysis, we identify
ideological, theoretical, conceptual and methodological limitations to the ‘scarce skills’ discourse.
Each limitation contributes to a reduced and myopic understanding of the complex and dynamic
relationship between post-school education and the economy. We conclude by sharing three
arguments which post-school institutions could draw on to respond to the skills discourse.