Survey refutes skills shortage is a myth

Johannesburg - About 81% of companies experience difficulty in recruiting staff due to a shortage of skills, a survey released on Wednesday has found.

Known as the National Remuneration Guide, the survey, released by the accounting firm Delloitte and Touche, was conducted in February.

Spokesperson Louise Marx said there was a skills shortage of chartered accountants, information technology specialists, sales and marketing staff, lecturers and scientists.

Marx said: "Seventy-six percent of respondents said that they had experienced a scarcity of affirmative action candidates.

"While there is certainly an unemployment problem in this country, a survey like this shows that there is a lack of skilled people in specific fields.

"Most of these categories require a certain level of experience which many unemployed people do not have."

She said 35% of employers had to offer a premium to attract affirmative action candidates.

When coming to staff turnover, the survey showed that most workers quit their jobs because of a lack of career advancement.

"Overall, the average staff who left their jobs from January 2006 to December 2006 was 12.3% compared with 11.6% for 2005," said Marx.

In May, Employment Equity Commission chairperson Jimmy Manyi referred to South Africa's skills shortage as an "an urban legend."

He said that companies experienced skills shortages only because white management refused to appoint black people.
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"an urban legend" lol. On what did he base his conclusions?

I was told by staff of the auditor general, that when they were trying to hire a female black auditor, she demanded R1 000 000 annually, she was fresh out of varsity with no experience, they denied her application and told her she was full of it, and a week later she received an offer in excess of R1 000 000 from another firm. The girl was so full of it, she contacted them and bragged about it.
 
lsuacner said:
I was told by staff of the auditor general, that when they were trying to hire a female black auditor, she demanded R1 000 000 annually, she was fresh out of varsity with no experience, they denied her application and told her she was full of it, and a week later she received an offer in excess of R1 000 000 from another firm.
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I've experienced similar things during a recent recruitement drive. Fresh out of varsity, nothing on the CV, but wants the same package deal that others get after 20 years experience. I don't know where they get the idea that this is acceptable. Somewhere the wheels are going to come off in spectacular fashion. When opportunists like these actually get appointed a very dangerous model is created that cannot be maintained.
 
Trafeye said:
I don't know where they get the idea that this is acceptable.
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Happens so much. I guess they get this idea because eventually someone will actually give them what they are asking for.

Same thing happened at my wifes radio station a few months back. A (not even graduated yet, I think around 22/23yrs) candidate came in, no CV, no experience, demanded over R65k PM, for a junior position! I mean really, who is telling them that they can expect these sorts of salaries?

Everything must be now, not in 10/20 years.

It really is so sad that ppl now think that just because they are AA or whatever placements that they deserve unrealistic salaries also.

An orgy of greed and demanding will be the ruin of this country.
 
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Trafeye said:
I've experienced similar things during a recent recruitement drive. Fresh out of varsity, nothing on the CV, but wants the same package deal that others get after 20 years experience. I don't know where they get the idea that this is acceptable. Somewhere the wheels are going to come off in spectacular fashion. When opportunists like these actually get appointed a very dangerous model is created that cannot be maintained.
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Demand and supply. If you can get a job at that salary, why not?
 
lsuacner said:
"an urban legend" lol. On what did he base his conclusions?

I was told by staff of the auditor general, that when they were trying to hire a female black auditor, she demanded R1 000 000 annually, she was fresh out of varsity with no experience, they denied her application and told her she was full of it, and a week later she received an offer in excess of R1 000 000 from another firm. The girl was so full of it, she contacted them and bragged about it.
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What are the penalties for companies not meeting their EE targets? I wouldn't have thought they'd be bad enough for a company to take on a R1000 000/year liability just to avoid it.
 
If you don't reach a position through hard work, you do not deserve to be there, you do not have the experience to make judgments and you will possibly be corrupt.

What keeps some people from looking at the multi choice paper next to them is 3 years of studying, which they don't want to ruin by trying to cheat. The same goes for professionals, promoted from the lowest ranks.

Personally I don't cheat and I don't steal from my employers because of moral values and because I won't be able to spend money which is not mine.

Anyway, I would not appoint that auditor, your behavior should be professional, above reproach. Such demands points to something which is at fault.
 
BlueCollar said:
Demand and supply. If you can get a job at that salary, why not?
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I don't think the employer agrees with that, as an employee I would do the same, I would work for the highest bidder, but as an employer, the person better be worth every cent.

At a mine where my dad works they have a token engineer also, she sleeps from 10-11 during office hours and nobody dares wake her then. 3 other engineers have to pick up the slack, it destroys moral among the employees, it is a waste of money. If I were the mining manager, I would let her go following procedure, I would employ another person fitting the same criteria, who does her job, who deserves the position based on merit.
 
lsuacner said:
At a mine where my dad works they have a token engineer also, she sleeps from 10-11 during office hours and nobody dares wake her then.
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That's probably her lunch hour snooze, nothing wrong with that.:D:D
What matters is what she does when she's awake.:D
 
The_Librarian said:
Yes, but what if you cannot do the work (you having no experience), what then?
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Exactly. Then the **** starts flowing down the streets - and consultants gets appointed to mop up and repair - pushing up the real cost of the position to many multiples of the cost of one experienced person. And this kills jobs. Companies cannot create more jobs but has to cut down jobs to support the Garfields.
 
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