A week has passed since large areas of South Africa were plunged into darkness as Eskom implemented emergency load-shedding procedures. Eskom claims that the widespread outages were as a result of unexpected failures which occurred at the same time as a n
But some analysts suggest something more sinister is at play. The current problems at Eskom could relate to lack of planning and skills shortages rather than short-term capacity issues.
South Africa is experiencing serious problems in the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. Information technology, accounting, engineering, medical and health-care professionals are all in short supply.
The financial services sector is facing difficulties in sourcing people with experience to run multidimensional investment funds, taxation services, accounting services and manage developing businesses. Internal departments responsible for customer services, the development and maintenance of IT applications, marketing, product knowledge and finance will be hard pressed to attract suitable candidates.
A growing demand for skilled workers
A recent study of the South African insurance industry revealed as many as five factors driving demand for skilled professionals.
1. Extension of insurance services to non-traditional markets
Insurance companies are focussing on large portions of the population who were previously excluded from the system due to high entry costs and demographics.
2. Regulatory compliance
Government regulation increases the demand for skilled staff to handle compliance issues.
3. Continued business growth
Business confidence in South Africa is at its highest level ever. In addition, GDP growth is expected to remain robust in the coming years. The insurance industry is likely to grow in line with or exceed GDP growth, with a simultaneous increase in the need for skilled staff.
4. Growth in asset ownership
Short-term and long-term insurance sales will see significant growth as more people enter the market for houses and motor vehicles. More staff will be required to handle the higher volume of business.
5. Fee-based incomes
Regulatory changes to fee structures and commissions will necessitate the employment of higher skilled staff.
Forget about a quick fix
It takes seven years to train a doctor, four years to train a teacher, nurse or engineer. Chartered accountants need four years at varsity and a few more as articled clerks before they can contribute to their full potential.
There is no 'quick fix' to the problem of skills shortages. A shortfall of engineers or medical professionals cannot be remedied by issuing a mandate to universities to produce more graduates.
An unqualified engineer or doctor is a danger rather than a benefit. Imagine the carnage if hundreds of poorly trained and inexperienced professionals were introduced to the economy. While some problems would be immediately obvious, the long-term damage would be impossible to calculate. We'd end up with a legacy of problems.
Industry and government have been fast asleep
South Africa is paying the penalty for poor planning. Corporations should have been identifying potential skills shortages and implementing plans to combat them some ten years ago. If enough firms had implemented such policies in 1996 then the current crisis would not exist.
Granted, many of our larger mining, engineering and accounting firms have well established bursary programs to attract promising students. The problem is these firms underestimated the intensity of economic growth and the increased demand for skills that South Africa has experienced over the past decade.
In the years to come, the solution will be two-fold. Government will have to work hard to boost the quality of education to matriculation level while the private sector will have to do more to encourage students to enter areas where skills shortages exist.
Such efforts will ensure that South Africa is able to draw from a surplus of skilled workers in the next six to ten years.
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