The global north - including Canada, Germany, the UK, and the UAE - is
poaching talented South Africans to fill their skills deficit, and young
South Africans are taking them up on their offers.
Several
immigration experts and surveys have shown that the global demand for
skilled South Africans is growing, especially for critical skills such
as doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, and IT professionals.
Combining
this demand with South Africa’s poor economic growth, high
unemployment, stagnant salary growth, and political uncertainty, you
have a situation where young, talented South Africans are leaving.
While
South Africa’s economy stagnates, other countries’ economies continue
to grow, including their populations; these countries include Canada,
Germany, the United Kingdom, and even the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With this growth comes the increased demand for critical skills.
According
to Germany‘s statistics, projections indicate that by 2035, Germany’s
ageing population will face a shortage of 7 million skilled workers.
The
nation is experiencing a deficit of skilled workers, particularly in
rapidly growing sectors such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM).
The German Economic Institute (IW) reported a shortage of 320,000 STEM specialists in the country.
As
a result, the number of foreign STEM employees in Germany reached
202,000, marking a remarkable 190% increase since 2012 - which includes
South Africans.
According to Studying-in-Germany.org, the top five
most in-demand job sectors are Engineering, Information Technology (IT),
Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Data Science and Analytics, and
robotics and Automation.
The UAE jobs market has shown resilience and growth in the post-pandemic years, with unemployment down to 2.75% in the country.
Conversely, the strength of the economy has revealed key shortages in the availability of the talent pool in the country.
According
to a report by hiring consultancy firm Cooper Fitchm, amid the
country’s growth of start-ups and businesses, business, human resource,
and marketing professionals are at the top of the list.
Canada is
actively recruiting foreign skilled healthcare and Information
Technology (IT) professionals, including South Africans.
Canada has
noted that persistent staffing shortages in the healthcare sector
following the pandemic have led some organisations, including certain
provincial government agencies, to rely more on foreign workers to fill
positions in clinics, hospitals, and senior care facilities nationwide.
Canadian
immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis from Beaver Immigration said he
has seen a 50% spike in interest from doctors and nurses who want to
immigrate to Canada.
The same goes for IT specialists.
Avramis
noted that while all these northern and developed countries have some
varying shortages on certain skills, they’re all hunting for teachers,
IT specialists, and healthcare professionals (nurses and doctors).
“There
is a race to recruit healthcare and other professionals in the Global
North (Canada, France, UK, UAE, Qatar, etc.),” Avramis said.
Considering
these in-demand professions, BusinessTech looked at the annual salary
ranges of the in-demand jobs in these countries as outlined by
recruitment firm Talent.com, as well as relevant local sources.
Job Country Average annual salary
Data Scientist Germany €115,921 (R2.3 million)
Web Developer Germany €92,064 (R1.8 million)
Civil Engineer Germany €80,341 (R1.6 million)
Marketing manager UAE AED150,000 (R751,000)
Human Resources (HR) UAE AED106,450 (R533,000)
Sales UAE AED 48,000 (R240,500)
Business system analyst administrator Canada $90,000 (R1.2 million)
Nurse Canada $72,936 (R971,000)
General physician (doctor) Canada $107,463 (R1.4 million)
*Conversions in rands are accurate as of 24 July 2024.
Why South Africans are leaving
According
to a survey conducted by the Inclusive Society Institute (ISI),
economic and personal well-being considerations mainly drove South
Africans who indicated their intention to emigrate.
23.18% of South
Africans who indicated that they were considering emigration cited
better job opportunities as the rationale for their consideration, while
9.79% suggested overall better opportunities.
9.69% cited a better
life/standard of living as the reason. A failing South African state and
lousy governance were the other contenders in the top five.
Globally,
young professionals (up to 30 years old) are the most mobile, with 73%
willing to move abroad for work, compared to the average of 63%.
South
Africa has a much higher mobility rate than the global average, with
79.5% of South African respondents stating that they’d be willing to
move and work abroad.
This number shoots to 84% when considering young South Africans.
Other incentives, such as favourable tax regimes, better pay, and recognised qualifications, are also big draws.
Commenting
on the reasons these doctors and nurses are choosing Canada, Avramis
said the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognises
South Africa’s healthcare education - meaning they don’t need to get
re-certified.
Germany offers access to Europe, while the UAE, on the
other hand, has the most competitive tax rates in the world and a highly
diversified economy with a growing number of South African expat
communities.