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Talent scarcity is one of the biggest issues facing Human Resources leaders in South Africa, and there seems to be no end in sight.
This is according to the Creating People Advantage 2023 report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA), which surveyed 6,893 people leaders in 102 markets, including 45 people leaders from South Africa.
58% of South African respondents cited people challenges and talent gaps as the biggest obstacle for their company.
People challenges and talent gaps were deemed the most significant challenge globally, whilst economic challenges rank second locally and third globally, and digital transformation and innovation rank third locally and second globally.
“Talent scarcity mitigation seems to be the biggest HR challenge in South Africa, with only 36% of respondents saying that HR finds proactive and effective ways to mitigate talent scarcity,” said BCG’s Rudi van Blerk.
South Africa’s skills crisis has been highlighted by several sources, with Xpatweb noting that many sectors in South Africa are struggling to recruit the resources they need.
The crisis has also been worsened by many skilled South African workers looking for new opportunities abroad.
Early insights from Xpatweb’s 2023 Critical Skills Survey revealed the following:
- 78% of participants stated that their organisation struggles to recruit critically skilled individuals.
- 73% indicated that an international search will assist the organisation in meeting critical business objectives.
- 82% of participants confirmed succession planning and skills transfer is a priority for their business.
The Department of Employment and Labour has also sounded the alarm on the skills shortage in South Africa, arguing that the country could benefit from more skilled foreigners.
“One of the alternatives of deploying these skills in the labour market is to source them from foreign nationals,” Minister Thulas Nxesi said in a recent parliamentary Q&A.
The Department said that the professions within South Africa most affected by skills shortages are those that South Africa benefits most from skilled migrants, and include:
Visa delays
However, the skills that South Africa needs from foreigners are being held up by major delays at the Department of Home Affairs, with a leaked memo seen by the Sunday Times showing a backlog of 95,000 applications in November last year.
Immigration lawyer Gary Eisenberg warned that skilled foreigners – who are needed to fill gaps in the critical skills lists – are giving up due to the wait for a visa.
“They cannot wait a year for a visa or spousal visa, so they are going elsewhere,” Eisenberg said.
Experts have also questioned the Department’s ability to deal with the backlog, with Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi even stating the time frame to fix the backlog has moved from June 2024 to November 2024 last year.
However, looking away from visas, BCG and WFPMA’s report suggests that HR professionals leverage data to plan for talent supply and demand, alter current talent acquisition approaches and invest in upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce to prepare for challenging times.
Read: Government leaves South Africa hanging
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