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It is now official that Africa’s biggest economy and regional economic giant, South Africa, is now in recession. This means that the economy is contracting. As has become the norm globally, one of the immediate effects of the crippling recession is the loss of jobs. Both the European Union and the United States of America have witnessed phenomenal job losses in recent months as a result of the deep recession.


In South Africa, analysts are predicting severe job losses in ensuing months across various sectors of the economy, especially in the motor industry and in mining and manufacturing. Yet, against this backdrop of depressing employment outlook, there has also emerged an interesting perspective on the talent management side.

A recent report released by Manpower SA has shown that South Africa remains one of the countries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region facing serious talent shortages. Results from the company’s 4th annual talent shortage survey indicate that 35 per cent of employers in South Africa and 25 per cent employers in EMEA face serious challenges in finding the right people for most vacant positions.

According to the survey results, the hardest to fill positions in South Africa are in the engineering, accounting and finance and skilled trades. In fact, the survey went on to rank these jobs in terms of talent shortage acuteness as follows: 1. engineers 2. skilled trades 3. accounting and finance staff 4. managers and executives 5. sales representatives 7. restaurant and hotel staff 8. teachers 9. secretaries and office support staff and 10. qualified drivers.

South Africa no longer has problems in filling Information Technology positions but is currently recruiting restaurant and hotel staff in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup bonanza. Globally, the top three positions that employers are having difficulty filling are: skilled manual trades, sales representatives and technicians. In Zimbabwe, companies have lost skilled artisans, health professionals and engineers to South Africa and Botswana.

The mismatch between individuals and specific skills required for these jobs calls for a rethink on talent management strategies at both corporate and national levels. From a purely corporate perspective, it calls for enhanced employer branding. A strong employer brand is vital in attracting and retaining the best talent. At a national level, South African policy makers are advocating a three-pronged strategy of addressing the twin problems of rampant unemployment and talent shortage.

To deal with the problem of unemployment, policy-makers are calling for enhanced government support for labour-intensive industries. There are growing calls for the government assist the mining and manufacturing industries through appropriate investments in the sectors and protecting local manufacturers from unfair competition.

The second strategy focuses on removing barriers to doing business in South Africa. To keep the engine room alive, the government is being urged to improve the environment within which business operates. To facilitate massive skills transfer, the South African government is being urged to review regulations governing the immigration of skilled workers.

Lastly, there appears to be general disappointment with the work of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) in enhancing the skills base of South Africa. To that extent, policy-makers are advocating the accelerated upskilling of the population. This calls for a massive skills development drive with special emphasis on entrepreneurial skills.

There is no doubt that South Africa is blighted by a serious problem of unemployment. What makes the problem unique is that the country cannot access specific skills from this vast pool of the unemployed. This calls for multi-pronged strategies going forward, especially in view of the deepening recession. The strategies being profferred along these lines are equally relevant to Zimbabwe in these momentous times of transition and recovery.

- Anthony Jongwe is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Global Workforce Solutions (Pvt) Ltd- a company that offers consultancy and advisory services in the area of workforce management. For feedback, send e-mail to:
consultgws@gmail.com