The regulations to the South African Immigration Act, 2002 provide for the Department of Home Affairs to periodically publish a list of critical skills required by the country. The existing list has not been updated since 2014.

An unofficial draft list is in circulation and we understand that the Department of Home Affairs has been consulting with the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labour to finalise an official list for publication.

The draft list is substantially shorter than previous versions and will have significant implications for companies operating in skills shortage areas if it is not altered substantially.
 
We understand that the new proposed critical skills list will be published shortly, and will only provide a small window of opportunity to give input on skills shortages that may affect your operations or industry.
 
ENSafrica will be submitting feedback on the list, once published, to the department.

We invite you to let us have, by 3 May 2019, your comments and recommendations in respect of professions or industries that are not adequately provided for in the current draft critical skill list in writing to:

Written by Zahida Ebrahim, executive, dispute resolution & immigration, ENSafrica.

This article was first published by ENSafrica. 

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