Here are the most in-demand job skills in South Africa right now

26 May 2022 – Businesstech

 

Jobs portal CareerJunction has published its Employment Insights for April 2022, showing which job skills are most in-demand in South Africa right now.

The insights report replaces CareerJunction’s previous job supply and demand index, taking a more detailed look at the job sectors in the country that are currently hiring, and which positions are most sought after.

The report is based on comprehensive data gathered from the Saongroup South Africa – where around 5,000 of the country’s top recruiters (both agencies and employers) advertise their positions to millions of registered jobseekers.

Following the highly elevated levels of recruitment activity during the first quarter of the year, the number of advertised vacancies dropped slightly in April, CareerJunction said.

Despite this, recruitment activity over the past 13 months still reflects a strong hiring trend, increasing by 32% between April 2021 and April 2022, it said.

In-demand job skills

Finance, Business & Management, as well as Admin, Office & Support, have seen the biggest increase in hiring activity.

It recorded growing hiring activity in three main sectors over the last three months. In each sector, several roles have been advertised more frequently.

Admin, Office & Support +23%

• Admin clerk
• Client / Customer support
• Human resources
• Switchboard / reception

Finance +17%

• Bookkeeping
• Financial / Project accounting
• Purchasing and procurement
• Cost and management accounting

Business & Management +11%

• Middle / department management
• Senior management
• Team leader and supervisor
• Staff recruitment / selection

Declining hiring trends

Conversely, CareerJunction also tracked a drop in hiring activity in certain sectors – specifically, two positions within the IT space.

Information Technology -3%

• Software development
• IT project administration / management

“Although Information Technology continues to be the top-performing employment sector in South Africa, it’s interesting to observe that hiring activity in this area has declined by 3% in the last three months.

“This decline may be partly attributed to increased emigration as travel restrictions are relaxed as well as the growing trend of ‘digital nomads’ in the IT space,” CareerJunction said.

The career expert noted an upward trend in candidates signing up to search and apply for jobs in education training and library, manufacturing and assembly, and design, media and arts.

Sales in focus

CareerJunction highlighted sales jobs in South Africa, with this sector still showing demand for candidates. The most desired skills include:

• Representative / Sales consulting
• Account management
• Retail

The majority of sales positions are for Gauteng (60%), followed by the Western Cape (14%) and KwaZulu Natal (13%).

Although Gauteng’s demand for sales candidates outstrips demand levels in the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, hiring activity for candidates in KwaZulu Natal has increased the most significantly over the past two years, the careers portal said.

Salaries in the sector for select jobs include:

• Sales Management:  R37,228 – R52,459 p/m
• Sales Consulting: R16,372 – R22,096 p/m
• Sales Administration: R14,191 – R18,394 p/m

Demand for Warehousing & Logistics candidates has grown by about 20% in Gauteng and the Western Cape between February to April 2020 and February to April 2022. On the other hand, KwaZulu Natal has only seen a minor increase in labour demand for this sector over the past  24 months.

Marketing professionals are experiencing improved employment prospects in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal compared to two years ago, CareerJunction said.

Most overall recruitment activity is happening in Gauteng (53%), followed by the Western Cape (22%) and KwaZulu Natal (10%).

www.samigration.com

"South Africans do not want the jobs that are being performed by immigrants" says Athandiwe Saba.

Twitter – 24 May 2022

No matter where you talk about the lack of jobs that South Africans are facing or the skyrocketing crime rate, the bottom line is that the words "illegal" and "immigrant" will come up. There are a large number of people from other countries who are here without proper documentation and are competing with citizens for everything; jobs; service delivery; and are also involved in crimes such as pickpocketing, cash transit heists, and ATM bombing, which are negatively affecting the economy of this country. View pictures in App save up to 80% data.

According to Athandiwe Saba's tweet: "Despite claims that foreigners are taking jobs, research has found evidence to the contrary." "We also discovered during our research that South Africans generally do not want jobs performed by migrants, such as hairdressing." She continued.

 People in the comments section were outraged by the research findings, with some asking who was doing that kind of job before the foreigners arrived. Of course, it was the locals, and they are still out there looking for work, but they are having no luck because the positions have already been filled by foreign nationals.

Employers hire illegal immigrants for a variety of reasons, the most notable of which is that they are known to be inexpensive, allowing employers to save a significant amount of money by hiring them. Another reason is that they are unable to register with unions, making them an easy target for unfair treatment in the workplace.

 Below are some of the comments from the people on Twitter:

"Despite your claims that South Africans don't want those jobs, we did research and discovered that every company that employs foreign nationals has CV's belonging to South Africans, e.g. Engen, Wimpy, etc," a Twitter user says. .

 Let's start with who did the research. The fact that South Africans have CV's does not imply that they did not want the jobs; the company may reject SAns by claiming they are not skilled when they apply and instead hire foreign nationals. What are the reasons for South African CVs being overlooked? " A Twitter user stated.

Samigration.com

Top Home Affairs official dismissed over ‘prophet’ Shepherd Bushiri’s permanent residency

Daily Maverick – 24 May 2022

The chief director for permitting at Home Affairs has been dismissed over the permanent residency permits issued to Shepherd Bushiri and his family. The self-proclaimed prophet fled fraud charges in 2020 and is living in Malawi as a fugitive.

Despite a pending extradition case to face fraud charges in South Africa, life appears to be continuing as normal for self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, the leader of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church. Following a service in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Sunday, Bushiri posed for photos after receiving portraits from a congregant in honour of his charity work in Malawi.

Back in South Africa, authorities continue to reckon with the wealthy church leader’s web of fraud, which includes allegedly “capturing” Home Affairs, deceiving investors out of R102-million and fleeing the country while out on bail.

On Monday evening, the Department of Home Affairs announced that its chief director for permitting, Ronney Marhule, had been dismissed with immediate effect over his recommendation to issue Bushiri, his wife, Mary, and their two children with permanent residency permits in 2016.

In a press statement, the department said a disciplinary hearing had found Marhule guilty of gross dishonesty, gross negligence and non-compliance with the Immigration Act when he recommended issuing the permits to Bushiri’s family, “which they did not deserve”.

The department said Marhule had also been charged regarding permanent residence permits issued to Mohamed Afzal Motiwala and Fatima Ebrahim. It did not provide details of their cases.

Marhule went to the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court to halt the disciplinary hearings, but his applications were dismissed. The chairperson of the disciplinary hearing found the “relationship of trust between the employer and the employee has broken down and cannot be restored”.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said: “The outcome of this disciplinary hearing is taking us closer to ensuring that we bring to an end irregular practices and decisions by Home Affairs officials within the system. We are cracking down on all forms of irregularities wherever we find them at Home Affairs.”

Motsoaledi has previously called Bushiri’s permanent residency fraudulent, and in the Labour Court it was alleged that the decision flouted immigration laws and made it possible for the church leader to commit criminal acts in South Africa.

According to Sunday World, Bushiri applied for permanent residency status on the basis of his net wealth and intention to invest at least R2.5-million in South Africa.

Citing Department of Home Affairs submissions to the Labour Court, the newspaper said Bushiri had submitted his church’s bank statements and his ownership of a private jet as proof of his commitment to invest in the country. The department said Bushiri had previously conducted business in the country while on a visitor’s visa.

A media report in 2021 claimed Bushiri had “captured” Home Affairs, with staff allegedly going to great lengths to allow him to move in and out of the country and to process his permit application. Motsoaledi dismissed the claim that his department had been captured.

It has previously been reported that five Home Affairs officials, including Marhule, had been suspended over the Bushiri matter. The status of the disciplinary hearings against the other four officials is unclear. It’s also unclear whether the police are investigating criminal charges against Marhule.

In September 2021, Motsoaledi told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs: “We are waiting for other law enforcement agencies to play their role. A disciplinary is internal, which we will handle on our own. There is, however, also a criminal element, which will be dealt with by others.”

Bushiri and his family fled South Africa in November 2020 while he and his wife were out on R200,000 bail each after being charged in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court with fraud and money laundering.

The couple were arrested by the Hawks regarding what appeared to be a fraudulent investment scheme, but escaped to their home country of Malawi, claiming the South African authorities were biased against them. It’s unclear as to how they escaped while out on bail.

Bushiri and his wife face an extradition application in Malawi, which, according to News24, was recently delayed because of a dispute over whether South African witnesses needed to testify in person or via video link.

The publication said the Malawi High Court in February 2022 had ordered the magistrates’ court considering the extradition to continue with the case regardless of whether South Africans testified in court or virtually. The status of the case is currently unclear.

Daily Maverick recently detailed how services at Home Affairs have been crippled, with 9,025 unfunded vacancies in the Civil Services branch alone.

www.samigration.com

Emigration options for South Africans looking for residency and citizenship

Businesstech - 23 May 2022

 

If you’re one of the growing number of South Africans looking for a second residency or citizenship, there’s a country out there with your name on it. But make sure you do your homework, as residency and citizenship options are constantly evolving and changing.

One recent change saw Portugal, which offers a residency programme popular with South Africans, limit the purchase of qualifying residential property to its low density designated interior regions and increase the minimum investment applicable to its many other qualifying investment options.

However, there are still a broad range of residency and citizenship programmes available for South Africans either looking for a ‘Plan B’, or simply wanting to benefit from greater investment and business opportunities, tax efficiency, improved lifestyles, education options and greater freedom of movement, said Ceri Pratley, a residency and citizenship consultant at Sovereign Trust SA.

“Correctly planned and implemented, residency and citizenship programmes provide a solid foundation that enable individuals and families to build comprehensive, flexible and tax efficient wealth management strategies,” said Pratley.

“But it’s important to realise that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Everyone has different requirements and objectives, which means that alternative residency should be approached holistically.”

Navigating the range of options can be a daunting task, as there are various types of residency and citizenship programmes available, with different qualifying requirements applicable in each country.

Residency Programmes:

• Financially Independent or Passive Income Programmes offer residence permits to applicants who can demonstrate a passive income or personal wealth above a specified amount. These generally require you to make the chosen country your primary place of residence and place of tax residence.

• Active, Start-up and Business Investment Programmes offer residence permits to applicants who establish a business or invest in a business, creating local employment opportunities and economic activity in the chosen country. Here the options are broader, and the amount needed as an initial investment can be low.

• Business Incubation Programmes provide residence permits to applicants who invest and work with specialist business incubation partners and local government-backed research and development (R&D) facilitators to establish a local business and economic activity. In some cases, these programmes have low minimum stay requirements.

• Residency by Investment (RBI) Programmes are often referred to as ‘Golden Visas’, and provide individuals and their dependents with a residence permit and a variety of associated benefits in exchange for a wide range of investment and donation options. Programmes such as this have low minimum stay requirements.

• Tax Residency programmes offer preferential rates for non-domiciled individuals who establish tax residency. The advantages of this can be numerous, but you will have to move your tax residency from South Africa, which comes with its own set of challenges.

Citizenship Programmes:

• Direct Citizenship programmes offer citizenship within three to six months in exchange for an investment or government donation, generally with no physical presence requirements. They also provide residency rights within a range of other countries with which the issuing country holds freedom of movement treaties.

• Indirect Citizenship programmes offer citizenship in exchange for government donations following a one or three-year period of legal residency.

• Citizenship through naturalisation is a process by which you may qualify for citizenship of a country after holding legal residency for a certain period. The rules of naturalisation vary from country to country.

Typically, they include a promise to obey and uphold that country’s laws and may include additional requirements such as demonstrating an adequate knowledge of a country’s language and culture. Most countries around the world offer this route to citizenship, but many have strict requirements to get residency in the first place.

“There are many points to consider before making a decision on where to emigrate – and it’s always advisable to seek professional assistance and start planning 12 to 18 months before heading abroad,” said Pratley.

 

Who offers which programmes:

• Financially Independent or Passive Income Programmes Europe: Greece, Portugal and Spain; MENA: Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates (UAE); Asia: Thailand.

• Active, Start-up and Business Investment Programmes Europe: Cyprus, Guernsey, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK); MENA: Mauritius and the UAE; Asia: Singapore and Thailand; Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands; North America: Canada and the United States (US).

• Residency by Investment (RBI) Programmes Europe: Cyprus, Guernsey, Portugal, Spain and Malta; MENA: Mauritius and the UAE; Asia: Thailand; Caribbean: Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

• Business Incubation Programmes Europe: Portugal and France; North America: Canada and the US.

• Tax Residency programmes Europe: Cyprus, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal and the UK; MENA: Mauritius; Asia: Thailand; Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

• Direct Citizenship programmes Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis and St Lucia.

• Indirect Citizenship programmes Europe: Malta.

www.samigration.com

Home Affairs official, four others arrested for passport fraud

The South African -23 May 2022

Four people were transported to the Home Affairs in White River where they would each give up their identities for R500 for passport fraud.

The Department of Home Affairs’ efforts to curb corruption within the department are finally paying off.

This comes after a senior Home Affairs official in the White River office in Mpumalanga and four South African citizens, who are allegedly part of the passport fraud syndicates, were arrested on Thursday.

DEPARTMENT DETERMINED TO FIGHT CORRUPTION 

DHA vowed earlier this year that they will follow up on all the members of the passport fraud syndicate, be it foreign nationals or South Africans.

In March this year, a Pakistani kingpin was nabbed in a midnight sting operation in the Krugersdorp office.

The department said it has been on the culprit’s trail ever since, in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

On Thursday four people were offered R500 each to give up their identities for passport fraud. 

The group was transported from Eldorado Park in Gauteng to the Home Affairs office in White River.

The department said the official was performing the treasonous act of facilitating the identity transfer from South Africans to Pakistani nationals. It was for a fee of R5 000 per passport.

“The Pakistani kingpin gets R40 000 from his countrymen who desire South African passports they are not entitled to.

“The successful operation was carried out by Home Affairs Counter Corruption Branch. They worked with other law enforcement agencies including the SA Police Service, the Hawks and Crime Intelligence.”

said the department.

OFFICIAL RUNS TO SANGOMA FOR PROTECTION 

Furthermore, the law enforcement agencies are on the trail of another senior Home Affairs official from the Praktiseer office in Burgersfort, Limpopo. 

The official was able to evade arrest last night by running to a sangoma, according to the department.

“He doesn’t know sangomas in the country are tired of crime and corruption and do cooperate with law enforcement. It is a matter of time that we catch up with him.” 

said the department.

DHA minister, Aaron Motsoaledi said last week they nabbed a Bangladeshi national trying to escape through one of the airports with a fraudulent passport. 

During his arrest, they reported that they know the Home Affairs official who issued the fraudulent passport. 

“We are on her trail and we will soon put her behind bars. Law enforcement officers are also on the trail of two other South Africans from Eldorado Park who are part of the syndicate.

“There is no place to hide for fraudsters. They shall be in orange overalls within a short space of time,”

said Minister Motsoaledi.

www,samigration.com