Statistics South Africa has confirmed that employment has been on the increase for four consecutive quarters of 2022, and the Agency recorded a 169,000 increase from the third quarter of 2022 to 15,9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In 2022, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey revealed that there were 648 000 jobs gained in the first two quarters, in Community and Social Services, Trade, Finance and Construction.
During the same period, it had been recorded that there were job losses in the Manufacturing and Transport industries.
This is a clear indication of the industries that have a high demand for jobs in South Africa at the present moment.
Additionally, the Department of Home Affairs published the 2022 Critical Skills list which revealed skills and qualifications that are deemed to be critical in the country, for either an application for a critical skills visa or an application for a permanent residence permit.
Home Affairs has indicated that the objective is to attract foreign skilled professionals and encourage them to migrate to South Africa to support local businesses and industries.
The job sectors that are hardest hit by these shortages include the information technology and finance sectors, but the shortages are also being felt almost across the board, including: Medical & Health; Marketing; Design, Media & Arts; Business & Management; and Engineering.
In a statement, the City of Cape Town has noted the following fields of study within the scarce skills categories:
- Accounting (CA and Cost Management)
- Artisan Training
- Auditing
- Contract Management
- Data Science/Analytics (Statistics, Computer Science)
- Economics
- Engineering (Various fields, including Industrial Engineering)
- Environmental (Specialists, including Air Pollution and Water Quality)
- Fleet Management
- Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
- Heritage
- Information Systems and Technology
- Innovation
- Legal (Various fields)
- Municipal Finance Management Act Minimum Competence qualification
- Nursing
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Project Management
- Public Accountability
- Renewable Energy
- Supply Chain Management
- Technical Training/qualification in Electricity/Energy/Refrigeration/Electronic/Process control
- and Operations
- Transport Management
- Urban Design, Landscape, Planning, Surveying and Architecture
Some experts have also shared that the Western Cape seems to be more affected by critical skills shortages than other provinces.
It is for this reason that the City of Cape Town annually offers bursaries to individuals that aspire to pursue their studies in this field of study, to close the skills gap that South Africa has.
It is also important for job seekers to take a look at the type of skills that are sought-after by employers in 2023.
