Critical Skills Survey SA's Most Sought After Skills

NEWS | THE MOST IN DEMAND SKILLS IN SOUTH AFRICA – RESULTS FROM THE ANNUAL CRITICAL SKILLS SURVEY

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The purpose was to highlight which skills employers find most difficult to recruit locally and as such provide input to the much anticipated new draft critical skills list from the Department of Home Affairs which will specify which occupations will qualify for a work visa in the Critical Skills Visa category and as such directly impacting employers.

When unpacking the results, we found that 89% of participants stated that their organisation struggles to recruit critically skilled individuals. Furthermore, 76% of participants indicated the need to search internationally for these skills which will assist the organisation to meet critical business objectives. When asked about the visa application process, 79% of participants indicated that the process remains a prohibitor and with only a limited number of companies managing to avoid the negative impact that the visa application system might have on their business.

ICT Specialists and Engineers Remain in High Demand

The results further show that ICT Specialists and Engineers continue to be one of the most sought-after skills with 19% and 21% of participants respectively indicating same. This is supported by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), who stated in 2019 that South Africa continues to lose hundreds of engineers year on year who emigrate with their families. This “brain drain” has created a massive skills shortage in the Engineering sector.

When looking at ICT professionals, a summit hosted by the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) at Leaderex in 2019 revealed that South Africa is in desperate need of ICT skills, and sadly, the Education sector is just unable to produce these skills in the numbers that South Africa needs. These factors are just the tip of the iceberg that cause multinationals to search globally for the skills needed.

Skilled Artisans Still Sought After

The biggest jump in demand was recorded for Artisans with an increase of 60% from 2017 to 2019. This is supported by the Government’s statement in 2017 that South Africa has a shortfall of about 40,000 qualified artisans, and this gap is expected to widen as demand continues to increase. This forces industry to import skilled artisans from various countries to complete time sensitive projects.

Global Competition for Skills

Contrarily, whilst South Africa is seeking critically skilled individuals, recent reports have shown that the momentum of South Africans seeking opportunities abroad has increased significantly over the past 5 – 10 years due to the concern of economic growth in South Africa. It is therefore important to be reminded that skills are globally sourced for the economic benefit of those countries and South Africa has to compete for scarce skills. When viewing the results in their entirety, it remains evident that there is a continued lack of critically skilled individuals available in South Africa and key stakeholders need to address these problems collectively in an effort to reinvigorate the economy.


AUTHOR
Marisa-Jacobs
Marisa Jacobs
Director

ft-Expect-a-backlog-in-work-visa-application-processing-for-foreigners-in-Africa

NEWS | EXPECT A BACKLOG IN WORK VISA APPLICATION PROCESSING FOR FOREIGNERS IN AFRICA

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Tarissa Wareley, an immigration expert at Xpatweb, says that immigration departments will need to streamline their approach to processing permits and visas’ backlog. Employers as well as workers are also encouraged to start their visa renewal and application processes far ahead of borders reopening. “The process of getting the required work permit renewals isn’t necessarily as complex, but many African countries’ immigration departments will need to make provisions for workers who have been out of the country and therefore had documents that expired due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Instead of having everyone start from scratch with the application process, immigration departments will benefit from creating a streamlined process to assist these foreign workers in getting back to their job sites as soon as lockdowns are lifted. Some countries have lead times of 2 – 3 months to process work permits and visa applications.

“We advise companies and workers to start their application processes early and for immigration departments to see where they can start assisting foreign workers who were unable to renew their visas due to the pandemic,” says Wareley.

Foreign work visa applications likely to receive more scrutiny

According to survey results, 48% of employers have new assignees that need permits to enter. Kenya, DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Botswana were among the top five countries that require the entry of new expats.

“Employers who have identified critical personnel need to apply for the permits now as these applications will likely receive a larger amount of scrutiny to prove that a local cannot do the job due to many of these countries suffering job losses as a result of COVID-19. Employers may also need to start considering how they will transfer those skills to a local ahead of the permit being granted as these applications may need to be additionally motivated,” says Wareley.

How border closures have affected industries and projects

62% of survey respondents indicated that they had to postpone the start date of their critical projects due to the lockdown. The most affected sectors are oil and gas (14%), mining (15%), and construction (18%). The countries that have been most impacted by projects that have not been able to start due to lockdowns are Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Madagascar, DRC, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Nigeria.

“With immigration departments still working despite travel restrictions, immigration processes should continue to be processed while we wait for borders to open. Processes are layered and complex, often taking several weeks to be adjudicated before someone can enter a country. Get your documents in place so that work can resume as soon as possible after border restrictions are lifted,” concludes Wareley.


AUTHOR
Tarissa Wareley - Immigration Specialist
Tarissa Wareley
Immigration Specialist

New Critical Skills Survey

NEWS | NEW CRITICAL SKILLS SURVEY – THE MOST IN-DEMAND SKILLS

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The list is currently open for public comment until 7 September 2020. The list will serve as the basis for the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) updated Critical Skills list, which was originally expected earlier this year.

“The new Critical Skills list was expected to be released in April 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed this process,” says Xpatweb’s Marisa Jacobs. “The Occupations in High Demand list is now available for public commentary, submissions must be made by Monday, 7 September. The significance of the list is that it will form the basis for the updated Critical Skills list by the DHA which contains all the skills deemed in short supply in South Africa. Thus, any person who fits the criteria contained therein may qualify for a Work Visa, under the Critical Skills Visa category, as per the Immigration Act.”

Xpatweb is running its fourth annual critical skills survey among local businesses, including JSE-listed companies and large multinational groups. Companies are encouraged to submit their inputs before 4 September on the skills they struggle to recruit locally.

“It is important that employers are represented with a submission and inputs on any occupations not included on the list and the survey results will form the basis of this submission. It’s a tight deadline, but the response has been very positive. Survey respondents grew by 30% last year and we’re expecting an even greater spike this year as the local business community – across all sectors – are eager to give input on the government gazette that will determine which foreign skills local businesses can employ under the Critical Skills visa category,” says Jacobs.

As skilled Saffers immigrate, local companies need to recruit internationally for these critical skills

There is a growing concern among many South Africans that skilled people are leaving the country in droves, choosing to relocate to New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Australia and Mauritius to name a few. Any discussion about emigration numbers is complicated by the fact that there is no official bureau in South Africa that collects emigration data. Resources from Stats SA, the United Nations International Migrant Stock database, and National statistics offices (NSOs) of foreign nations, however, suggest that upwards of 23,000 people per year are emigrating from South Africa.

“People who are emigrating are often skilled and experienced, which is why they can find work abroad. Therefore, it is important to be reminded that skills are globally sourced for the economic benefit of those countries and South Africa has to compete for scarce skills,” says Jacobs.

The Critical Skills List update is long overdue

The latest Critical Skills List by the Department of Home Affairs was published in 2014. According to Xpatweb’s annual survey, several occupations that corporate South Africa needs are not on the latest DHET Occupations in High Demand list, including several categories of ICT specialists and engineers, and foreign language speakers. Occupations included range from chef, wine maker, tobacco grader and tour guide to nurse, rigger, actuary and software engineer

“There is a continued lack of critically skilled individuals available in South Africa and thanks to survey participants, we are able to guide the government’s critical skills list and help shape the decisions that will help local businesses reinvigorate the economy,” concludes Jacobs.


AUTHOR
Marisa Jacobs - Director
Marisa Jacobs
Director