• South Africa is ready to welcome more international immigrant workers but is looking for skilled individuals in eight professions
• The targeted fields include engineering, Arts and Media, health sciences, and accounting, among several others
• South Africa’s Immigration is ready to give skilled Nigerians priority as the country looks to bridge workforce gaps

South African government has announced plans to recruit more foreign workers to fill eight key professions experiencing skill shortages.

The decision was reached following a recent parliamentary Q&A session, where Thulas Nxesi, the country’s Minister of Employment and Labour, was asked about critical skills that he has identified migrants can use to secure visas and work in the country.

Report shows that in response, the minister said that the Republic of South Africa, like all other countries worldwide, experiences scarce and critical skills in those job types where employers cannot find suitably qualified or experienced employees.

His words:

“One of the alternatives of deploying these skills in the labour market is to source them from foreign nationals.”

Nxesi added that research has been carried out by the higher education department, which publishes and receives public comments on the national scarce skills list.

He noted:

“The National Development Plan, the National Infrastructure Plan, Industrial Policy Action Plan and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) Scarce Skills Lists indicate shortages in certain career fields and are used to determine the needed skills”.

“One of the alternatives of deploying these skills in the labour market is to source them from foreign nationals”

Skills shortage in South Africa

Based on the department’s research, there are skills shortages in South Africa, giving foreigners a chance to easier process for corporate or individual work visas.

• Information Technology
• Business and Management
• Design
• Engineering
• Financial Sectors
• Marketing
• Medical and Health
• Arts and Media

BusinessTech reports that the minister stressed that to qualify for a visa, the employer must provide evidence that they couldn’t find a South African citizen with the same qualifications or experience in the relevant category.

“Don’t Pay Agents”: Nigerian Immigration warns citizens

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has warned Nigerians against paying agents to obtain passports.

In a post on Twitter, now X NIS emphasized that individuals can easily apply for and pay for their passports online without needing an intermediary.

Source: Legit.ng