With youth unemployment at 46.1%, and most entry-level jobs offering little more than a pay slip, the outlook for many school leavers in South Africa appears bleak.
However, the South African logistics sector is showing signs of positivity, with a quieter story of upward movement, especially among workers who began with little more than a school-leaving certificate and a willingness to work hard.
Promotions rarely trend on LinkedIn, and very few CVs capture the climb. However, inside warehouses, depots, and operations centres, general workers are becoming supervisors. Assistants are moving into compliance and control rooms. And those who started offloading boxes now handle national reports.
Prince Zulu is one such example. He began his career as a general worker at City Logistics in Durban, assisting with store deliveries and supporting new branch openings. As his responsibilities expanded, so did his trajectory—leading to HR coordination, training initiatives, and ultimately, express operations in the Western Cape. Today, Zulu serves as a national analyst, focusing on risk and compliance.
Zulu’s story isn’t a one-off. It echoes that of colleague Mzoxolo Wani, who joined as a van assistant in 2017. Over time, he has progressed into risk management and is now studying occupational health and safety to obtain a formal qualification that aligns with the experience he has gained.
City Logistics is not alone in this approach, but its workforce offers a clear view of how internal mobility is beginning to reshape the sector. One such example is Themba Zwane, a long-serving employee who joined the logistics specialist as a checker and soon advanced to the receiving team at one of the company’s larger Johannesburg facilities. In a fitting progression, Zwane was accepted into the company’s internal management development programme—and now leads the very team he once reported to.
Zwane recalls arriving for his first shift, not knowing how to use the scanner system. “One of the team leads showed me once, and that was it. From there, I just kept asking questions.”
While logistics is still a sector dominated by long hours and low margins, some companies are quietly investing in internal development—not flashy marketing campaigns, but in practical ways: letting people try, letting them grow, and in some cases, letting them lead.
“You don’t always need a long list of qualifications to grow in this industry,” explained Ryan Gaines, CEO of City Logistics. “What matters is showing up, learning fast, and taking responsibility. When people do that, we try to meet them halfway. Sometimes, that means training; sometimes it’s just a chance to prove themselves in a bigger role.”
It’s important to note, however, that while companies like City Logistics have made strides in this area, a recent study published in the European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies found that many South African logistics companies still face challenges in implementing comprehensive career development practices. This gap highlights the uneven progress across the sector and underscores the need for greater focus on structured employment development to sustain upward mobility.
It’s no silver bullet for youth employment. But in a country where entry-level often means staying at the bottom, these small, steady shifts point to a different way forward—one where experience counts, and ambition, even from the warehouse floor, is taken seriously.
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