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The Department of Higher Education and Training has published his draft of the list of high-demand occupations that aims to establish the most in-demand skills across the country.
The meaning of the list is that it will form the basis for the Department of Internal Affairs’ updated list of critical skills, which contains all the skills that are considered rare in South Africa, said Marisa Jacobs of Xpatweb.
Jacobs said that anyone who meets the criteria on the list can qualify for a work visa, under the critical skills visa category, under Immigration Law.
While the latest Critical Skills List from the Department of Internal Affairs was published in 2014 and is currently under review, Xpatweb’s own data shows that there are a number of in-demand skills that are not currently covered.
Jacobs said this includes:
- Various categories of ICT specialists and engineers;
- Speakers of foreign languages;
- Chefs;
- Winemakers;
- Tobacco grades;
- Tour guides;
- Nurses;
- Quantity Surveyors;
- Actuaries; and
- Software engineers.
“There is a continuing lack of critical skills available in South Africa and thanks to survey participants we are able to guide the government’s list of critical skills and help shape decisions that will help local businesses revitalize the economy.” Jacobs said.
According to CareerJunction, the three skills most in demand in the country at the moment are software developers, middle / department managers and sales representatives or consultants.
Despite a decline in software developer hiring activity over the past four months, programming and software development skills remain the most in-demand skills in the local job market, according to the group.
“The demand for managerial skills is showing steady growth over the last two months. Following a drop in demand in the second quarter of 2020, recruiting activity increased by more than 60% since May.
“Aside from the decline in hiring activity in the current economic climate, hiring activity for consultants and sales reps grew 30% since May 2020.”
High demand
Jacobs said the skills list is important as a growing number of qualified South Africans have expressed a desire to emigrate, meaning local businesses must recruit internationally for these critical skills.
“There is growing concern among many South Africans that trained people are leaving the country in droves, choosing to move to New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Mauritius, to name a few,” he said.
Jacobs said that any discussion of emigration figures is complicated by the fact that there is no official office in South Africa that collects emigration data.
“However, the resources of Stats SA, the United Nations International Migrant Stock Database, and the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of foreign countries suggest that more than 23,000 people a year emigrate from South Africa.
“People who emigrate are usually skilled and experienced people, so they can find work abroad. Skills are sourced globally for the economic benefit of those countries, and South Africa has to compete for scarce skills. “
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