Job hunting? These jobs are high in demand in SA
Despite many people struggling to find a job, there are jobs that are currently in high demand.
Despite the high unemployment rate in South Africa, there are still jobs that are trending and in high demand.
TOP FIVE JOBS
According to Pnet, a South African online e-recruitment service provider, the positions that are currently highest in demand in the country, are in the finance sector. Jobs in payroll and wages departments are specifically in high demand.
This is followed by personal assistant positions and client/customer support roles, both in the admin, office, and support sectors.
Also currently in high demand, are positions in the medical industry and in the sales industry. In particular, the roles that are mostly available are nursing, professional care giving in the medical/health sector. In the sales sector, representatives and sales consultants are in demand.
Interestingly, all these jobs are in sectors that have seen an increase in remote work since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Business Tech. This is of course not applicable to the nursing or professional caregiving positions.
OTHER JOBS IN DEMAND
Even though the building and construction sector does not form part of the current top five hiring sectors, it has shown a year-on-year increase of 14% in hiring activity. There was a decline in hiring activity in the first two months of the year. However, the current hiring activity is still higher than a year ago.
Another sector that has shown an increase in hiring activity over the past year, is the architecture and engineering sector. Jobs in this sector have been scarcer over the last three months, however. Manufacturing and assembly has also shown an increase in hiring activity over the last year.
SHORTAGE IN THE NURSING INDUSTRY
South Africa is experiencing a notable shortage of nursing professionals, putting strain on the healthcare system. It is also affecting the quality of patient care, according to The Good News.
Approximately 83 out of every 100 people in the country depend on the public sector for their health care, according to Mail and Guardian. Amid recent budget cuts in the public health care system, the sector is facing many challenges. More and more posts in the sector are unfunded.
As with other African countries, South Africa’s public health sector has seen shortages in healthcare worker numbers for many years, and this problem was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In an article published by Sabinet, it is stated that the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in South Africa is projected to be 97 000 health workers by 2025. What this means, is that a projected 97 000 healthcare workers will be needed by 2025 to address inequities across provinces. Community health workers make up around one-third of this number.
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