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Xpatweb has released its 2020/21 Critical Skills Survey Report, which details the eight most sought-after jobs in the IT sector right now. The survey is conducted annually across a wide range of multi-national and corporate companies in South Africa to determine and assess the pressure points that human resource and global mobility practitioners face in sourcing critically skilled individuals when seeking to fill posts locally. |
"As big data, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and the
internet of things rapidly shape the way of doing business, which often makes
the difference between those competitors that survive the transition from the
third industrial revolution into the 4IR and those that ultimately fail,
sourcing these skills is a priority that cuts across all sectors.
The eight most-sought after professions:
· IT application developers
· Data analysts
· Data scientists
· Software developers
· Software engineers
· IT program managers
· Digital skills
· Network architects
Xpatweb explained that some businesses were so desperate for ICT skills that
17% indicated they were seeking qualified yet still inexperienced
professionals, while another 17% were seeking those with one to three years of
experience and 38% wanted to recruit staff with three to five years of
experience. A total of 28% of respondents required ICT professionals with more
than five years of experience.
The importance of qualified professionals
Highlighting the skills shortage impact on their businesses, 94% of
organisations reported that qualified data scientists are an occupation that
was critical to their ongoing operational success. A further 94% of
organisations reported a similar need for qualified software developers, while
89% of organisations were in need to recruit data analysts to ensure their
ongoing operational success.
According to a 2019 survey by the Institute of Information Technology
Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), South Africa has a chronic shortage of ICT
professionals. The survey listed the top ten hard to fill occupational
vacancies in firms in the media, information, and communication technology
sector:
1. Software developer (1,131 vacant posts)
2. Computer network and systems engineer (352)
3. ICT systems analyst (316)
4. Programmer analyst (165)
5. ICT security specialist (150)
6. Business analyst (126)
7. Multimedia designer (121)
8. Advertising specialist (106)
9. Database designer and administrator (91)
10. Telecoms network engineer (91)
Moreover, according to IITPSA’s survey, the demographic of the average ICT
professional has remained the same over the past 12 years.