Scarce Skills - Jobs in short supply

Scarce Skills 

Scarce skills are those occupations identified as being in short supply due to a shortage of qualified and experienced people. This shortage can be current (happening now) or it may be expected in the future. 

Reasons for scarce skills could be any of the following:

• Very few people have studied to fill these posts
• Special experience is required, for example people with years of experience of management,
• In other cases, people are needed in certain towns, cities or geographical areas.
• Scarcity can also be in terms of equity, for example too few women enter into a specific career.

Scarce skills are influenced by job trends linked to wider economic trends happening throughout the world. Job trends indicate the direction in which the job market is moving influenced by international global trends relating to changes in technology (eg. 4th industrial revolution), environmental impact (eg. green careers) and demographic changes (aging population). One of the biggest trends we face in South Africa is the loss of highly skilled people leaving South Africa for Europe and North America. This called the brain drain and this has a huge impact on the available high demand skills such as in the IT and medical fields in South Africa. 

Here is a list of the top twenty scarce skills in South Africa. This list is published every two years by the Department of Higher Education - National Scarce Skills List.  If you can identify the major job trends and related scarce skills you will be able to find a job more easily; chances are that you will be better paid and get promoted.