POUND SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (GBP/ZAR) EXCHANGE RATE RISES AS SA BUSINESS CONFIDENCE REMAINS FLAT

NEWS | POUND SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (GBP/ZAR) EXCHANGE RATE RISES AS SA BUSINESS CONFIDENCE REMAINS FLAT

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The South African Chamber of Commerce (SACCI) took a dovish tone, stating:

‘What is clear is that all South Africans are expecting decisiveness on the part of government to deal with corruption, incompetence and non-performance, and certainty in urgent implementation of policies to drive economic growth and job creation.’

ZAR traders are becoming increasingly jittery on news that skilled, high-earning groups are beginning to emigrate from South Africa.

Marisa Jacobs, Director at the immigration specialists Xpatwab, commented: 
‘Following last year’s survey, ICT specialists and engineers remain the most difficult to recruit, followed by artisans, senior financial executives, professionals in the health sector, executive managers, specialists & academics, mining executives, risk managers, and foreign language speakers.’

GBP/ZAR Exchange Rate Improves as UK House Prices Improve

The Pound (GBP), meanwhile, failed to benefit from today’s release of the annual Halifax house prices figures for June.

These improved to their best since early 2017, rising from 5.2% to 5.7%.

Russel Galley, a Managing Director at Halifax, commented:

‘With the ongoing lack of clarity around Brexit, people will be looking for more certainty in the coming months, both to encourage them to list their property and to create the confidence needed to encourage buyers.’

The ongoing Tory leadership race will remain in focus today, with tomorrow seeing the votes open up for the party’s 160,000 members to choose the next leader of the Conservatives.

Brexit fears are once again ramping up, however, as Boris Johnson – the leadership favourite – recently commented that the £39bn ‘divorce bill’ that the UK could secure in the event of a no-deal could potentially be used for his lavish spending pledges.

Mr Johnson said:

‘It may have escaped your notice, but in the event of a no-deal Brexit, we will have an additional £39bn to spend.’

GBP/ZAR Outlook: Brexit and Tory Leadership Developments in Focus

South African Rand investors will be paying close attention to US-China trade relations next week.

Any signs of a US-China trade deal could provide some uplift for the risk-averse ZAR.

Pound traders, meanwhile, will be awaiting Tuesday’s BRC annual like-for-like retail sales figures for June.

These are expected to improve from the previous -3.0% to 0.8%.

Tory leadership developments and Brexit will also remain in focus.

The GBP/ZAR exchange rate could begin to fall on Brexit jitters if the new leader shows any signs of pushing forward with a no-deal exit from the European Union.

Source: CurrencyNews

NEWS | SA VISA REFORM KICKS IN AS NEW ZEALAND AND 6 OTHER COUNTRIES GIVEN FREE ENTRY

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South African Tourism (SA Tourism) has welcomed the news from Department of Home Affairs as it improves the overall value offering of SA as a destination considerably. While domestic tourism is the larger segment, the economic boost often comes from the pound and dollar wielding international tourists.

The beginning of this year, SA saw a 1.3% decline between Jan and April 2019, when compared to the same period last year – and the 3.6-million who did visit, is much less than the 11.6-million overall target for the overall year.

The improved access will undoubtedly help spur the visitor numbers. Come November 2019, when full implementation is expected according to the announcement made by Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi during the budget vote on Wednesday – citizens of Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe, New Zealand, Cuba, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia no longer require visas to visit South Africa.

“This is amazing news and could not have come at better time for the tourism industry,” says SA Tourism Acting CEO, Sthembiso Dlamini.

“As we look to achieve our 5-in-5 goals which is to increase international tourist arrivals by 4 million and domestic holiday trips by 1 million, the visa waivers will go a long way to assisting the increase of tourist arrivals into South Africa.”

After New Zealand announced in 2016 that South African visitors will require a visitor visa, SA changed its visa regulations for New Zealand visitors to needing a visa to enter SA.

Former Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom previously detailed how the impact of reciprocal visas with New Zealand had led to a significant drop in travel from the country as well. In 2017, after the decision that visas would no longer be required for Russian tourists, Russian visitors increased by 52%.  In sharp contrast to this, after SA imposed a visa requirement on New Zealand, the numbers dropped by 24%.

“The visa waivers to countries in all of our key markets will ensure that we stimulate growth in the industry that is in line with the mandate issued to us by President Cyril Ramaphosa,” says Dlamini.

The Department of Home affairs also committed to employing additional staff to key markets where there is high demand for visas thus decreasing the visa waiting time.

“Home Affairs offices that process visas for India, China and Nigeria will receive additional human resources is a further indication and commitment by government to ensure that the tourism industry is prioritized,” concluded Dlamini.

Source: traveller24

NEWS | NEW CRITICAL SKILLS SURVEY – THE MOST IN-DEMAND SKILLS IN SA MAY BE LEAVING FOR GREENER PASTURES

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Marisa Jacobs, Immigration Specialist and Director at Xpatweb, the largest independent immigration specialists in South Africa, says the company’s recently released annual Critical Skills Survey not only highlights the top critical skills that employers struggle to recruit within local borders but shows striking similarities between the jobs that are in demand in popular emigration destinations, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Which skills are the hardest to recruit locally?

The latest Critical Skills Survey, which is considered by the government, surveyed 110 companies, including JSE-listed companies and large multinational groups operating in Africa. Following last year’s survey, ICT specialists and engineers remain the most difficult to recruit, followed by artisans, senior financial executives, professionals in the health sector, executive managers, specialists & academics, mining executives, risk managers, and foreign language speakers.

“The most notable jump in figures are the number of South African companies struggling to recruit artisans, increasing by 45% from last year and professionals in the health sector which rose by a massive 200%” says Jacobs.

Work visa processes to recruit internationally are perceived as onerous

Over 85% of respondents indicated that they find it difficult to recruit critically skilled individuals and that an international search would help them find these skills, but that the work visa process was an inhibitor.

“Respondents indicated that the work visa process prohibits South African employers from recruiting internationally, citing onerous requirements and long processing times of the South African embassies abroad, as some of the major challenges they face. While this is a clear perception shared by the respondents, our experience has shown that if the person being recruited truly has a critical skill, we have never failed to obtain a work visa,” says Jacobs.

 Skills leaving South Africa

South Africa notoriously doesn’t keep record of the number of South Africans who permanently leave the country, but other countries keep track of immigrants.

“Our survey results show that there is a very clear link between the skills that are needed locally and the professions that other countries are recruiting for, again confirming that skills shortages are a global challenge and South Africa is competing for these skills. Skills transfer to local teams and concession planning remains a key element for companies to develop their teams,” concludes Jacobs.

Xpatweb will launch the next Critical Skills survey earlier this year in time to provide input for Government’s new critical skills draft list, which is expected to be published later this year for public comment.

Click here to access the full survey results.

AUTHOR

Marisa Jacobs
Director

Ramaphosa’s success plan for SA’s business & government sectors

NEWS | RAMAPHOSA’S SUCCESS PLAN FOR SA’S BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT SECTORS

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During the address, President Ramaphosa continuously encouraged Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) confirming that they continue to build a pipeline of investment which will contribute towards economic growth and therefore job creation.

FDI = ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOB CREATION

President Ramaphosa indicated that during the last year, R250 billion worth of investment (of the R300 billion in investments announced at the Investment Conference last year) has entered implementation phase.

It is evident from the State of Nation Address, that attracting foreign investment to boost economic growth and employment creation remains high priority on the President’s agenda.

RECOGNISING CHALLENGES

In order to improve the current business climate, our President recognises the challenges faced including the high cost of doing business, high unemployment rate of young South Africans as well as ‘complicated and lengthy regulatory processes.’

Following a recent survey conducted by Xpatweb, many businesses, including large corporates and multinationals, still perceive the visa regime (which forms part of the ‘complicated and lengthy regulatory processes’) as a prohibitor to doing business in South Africa.

Businesses continuously seek to attract foreign talent with the required skillset to positively contribute to the organisations and as such to the economy. The regulatory processes however, in their view, serve as an obstacle, despite the direct and indirect impact these critically skilled expatriate talent has on business and the ability to create jobs.

OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES TOGETHER

President Ramaphosa assures us the necessary measures are being put in place to improve the ease of doing business, and subsequently lead to an increase in investment.

Interim solutions, such as the review of the country’s investment promotion policy and architecture, streamlining of regulatory processes, automating permit and other applications, and further reducing the cost of compliance are some of the measures mentioned during his Address.

The above changes will enable a narrowing of the gap between Government and business.

We are encouraged by the President’s remarks and retain that we have never failed to successfully obtain a legal work permit for a foreigner who truly has a scarce skill that is needed in South Africa.

AUTHOR

Marisa Jacobs
Director

Critical Skills Survey Results 2018

NEWS | CRITICAL SKILLS SURVEY RESULTS 2018

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Introduction to this year’s survey

This is the most prominent survey in South Africa of its kind, considered by Government and a good example was the speech of Minister Angie Motshekga at the launch of the Rhodesfield Engineering School of Specialisation; making direct reference thereto.

Watch the critical skills survey video
Sign up for the 2019 results

In the news

Click here to read: The most in-demand skills in SA may be leaving for greener pastures

Respondents

Total Respondents

110 Number of companies who participated in this year’s survey, including JSE-listed companies and large multinational groups operating in Africa

60% Respondents in management and key decision-making positions

18% of the respondents are c-suite level executives

Industries who participated in the survey

  • Government
  • Life, Physical and Social Sciences
  • Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry
  • Legal Services
  • Arts and Entertainment
  • Installation and Repairs
  • NGO’s
  • Sales
  • Transportation and Moving
  • Administration Services
  • Production and Manufacturing
    • Food and Restaurants
    • Hospitality and Tourism
    • Management
    • Architecture and Engineering
    • Education and Libraries
    • Information Communication Technologies
    • Construction and Extraction
    • Healthcare and Medical Services
    • IT and Technical Services
    • Business and Finance

Top 10 occupations respondents identified as being the most difficult to recruit in South Africa

ICT Specialists

Engineers

Artisans

Senior Financial Executives

Health Sector

Executive Managers

Specialists and Academics

Mining Executives

Risk Manager

Foreign Language Speakers

2019 Critical Skills Survey

The 2019 critical skills survey has opened early this year!

Several visa-related reforms are on the horizon in line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Stimulus and Recovery Plan. This includes a review of the critical skills list expected to be published later this year.

The 2019 survey results will be submitted to the Department of Home Affairs and Parliament in line with the White Paper on International Migration and the DHET’s National List of Occupations in High Demand and specifically to address any occupations not catered for on the new draft list. The survey offers an opportunity for Mobility and Human Resource practitioners to help shape law.

To receive early access to the new Critical Skills Survey results, click on the button below:

SIGN UP FOR THE 2019 RESULTS

2018 Critical Skills Survey Video