Labour demand in the Western Cape has on average outpaced the rest of SA over the past decade, a study conducted by Labour Market Intelligence shows, underscoring the province’s reputation as a key driver of the country’s economic growth.
The pilot study, which forms part of the department higher education and training’s national list of occupations in high demand (OIHD), shows employment prospects are better in the Western Cape than the rest of the country, bolstering the DA’s argument the region is a job-creating hub.
Leaning on data from Stats SA, the study found that despite the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Western Cape’s labour market has recovered and is now stronger than it was in the year preceding the pandemic.
Most labour demand in the Western Cape, according to the study, comes from the finance, construction, agriculture, and community and social services industries.
“In the six years preceding the pandemic (2013-2019), the province exhibited stronger employment growth than the rest of the country. In terms of the employment impact of the pandemic, the Western Cape recovered quicker than the country. On average, employment in the Western Cape declined by 4.2% from 2019 to 2022, compared to the national contraction of 5.4% over the same period,” reads the study.
“Over the past decade, the Western Cape has contributed consistently to SA’s economy, exhibiting a GDP growth trajectory that has often surpassed national GDP growth. While the national GDP grew modestly at 0.4% per annum between 2019 and 2022 (just before and during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic), the Western Cape demonstrated a more robust average growth rate of 0.9%.”
The study revealed about 250 occupations in high demand in the province, including electricians, finance managers, management consultants, civil engineers, welders, plumbers and boiler makers.
In another pilot study, the research also zoned in on the labour market in Mpumalanga.
The study shows that post-Covid-19 labour market recovery in the coal-rich province is lagging behind the rest of the country.
The study found that by 2023 the province’s employment was still 6.7% below its 2019 level compared with SA’s, which was only 0.5% below.
Between 2019 and 2022 the finance industry in Mpumalanga experienced a net employment decrease of 28,478 individuals, followed by the trade industry, with a net decrease of 22,275 workers, and the construction industry, with a decrease of 20,421 people.
“Due to projected poor growth on a national level and Mpumalanga’s lagging recovery, it is therefore crucial that the skills planning closely aligns with occupational demand,” reads the study.
The research identified 167 high-demand occupations in the province including truck drivers, electricians, diesel mechanics, boiler makers, solar installers and tax professionals.
“The occupations listed are diverse and require high-level professional, managerial, and technical skills, but also low- to medium-level administrative and clerical support ... for policymakers, these findings emphasise the necessity of tailored strategies to address the unique economic conditions of Mpumalanga,” the study notes.
“Policy interventions should focus on upskilling programmes, aligning education and training with the identified high-demand occupations, and fostering collaboration between educational institutions and industries. Additionally, measures to support sectors experiencing decline, such as the construction industry, could mitigate the impact on employment.”
At a national level, the study found more than half of workers in SA occupy positions they are either overqualified for or underqualified for, highlighting the levels of education — job mismatches in the economy.
The data shows that 51.7% of SA workers are in jobs that do not match their education levels.
This is made up of 23% of the country’s labour force who do jobs they are overqualified for and 28.7% who are plying their trade in vocations they are underqualified for.
“Furthermore, 30.3% of SA workers are employed in an occupation that does not match the field of study of their highest educational attainment,” reads the list gazetted on Tuesday.
The department also noted that the unemployment rate for graduates increased by 1.2 percentage points — from 18.5% in 2019 to 19.7% in 2023.
Some of the high-demand jobs flagged by the report are finance managers, internal auditing managers, mining managers, water asset managers, mathematicians, actuaries and airport and harbour managers.
The department has also listed logistics management, IT management, school principals, statisticians, geologists, wine makers, mining engineers, quantity surveyors, urban planners, pathologists, mental health nurses and university lectures as being in high demand.
The list comprises 350 of the most sought after occupations in country, ranging from plumbers to flying instructors.
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