The learnership and apprenticeship systems are in their infancy, but evidence suggests that participation in these pathways has created access to employment — at least for some individuals and groups. The nature of the South African economy is such that activity is concentrated within a few economic hubs. While it is important that education and training create an adequate local supply of skilled workers for these activities, there is also an obligation to provide skills in areas of low economic concentration.  Promoting skills development in these geographic areas can create opportunities for the individual, but, if local activity is not promoted, the burden on economic hubs can increase as job-seekers migrate, simultaneously draining poorer areas of skilled talent. Spatial lens shows an important limitation of skills development programmes that is masked by aggregated numbers. The geographic spread of opportunities for learnership and apprenticeship skills development are skewed in absolute and relative terms, reflecting the economic profile of regions. The policy implication is that targeted interventions are required to promote greater access to learnership and apprenticeship programmes in neglected, underdeveloped regions, such that more equitable opportunity is created and cross-regional patterns of inequitable growth can be ameliorated.