Brain-drain factor on hold in IT sector
Online business technology news organisation ITWeb found that although IT qualifications remained the second-most sought-after training after engineering, the supply-demand gap had closed over the past two years. In 2003, most employees in the sector netted an average salary of R24,000 a month.
IT recruitment agency Insource client development manager Susan Haiden said the scarcity of skills in the sector in the past, which led to higher salaries, was influenced by the introduction and resurgence of new technology. "During the first year of the new technology, salaries are high, as there are few people with the skills to do the job."
ITWeb editorial director Ranka Jovanovic said survey respondents also noted a gap between salaries of female and male IT professionals, with females earning on average R19,683 last year. Though the gap closed from 2004’s R19,147, it raised questions about gender equalities in the country, which is hailed as having among the best gender legislation practices in the world.
The survey polled more than 3,000 respondents, with only 13% being black IT professionals, and more than 80% being white males – a strong signal that the sector lagged behind in increasing black representation on staff, managerial and executive levels. This is despite inroads into the drafting of the information communication technology charter – an empowerment blueprint for hi-tech firms – which is expected to be released later this year. Efforts to bump up black participation in the industry were also dealt a blow this week when the Black Information Technology Forum, an organisation promoting black representation, said it was bankrupt.
Earlier this year, government unveiled a massive skills programme called the joint initiative for priority skills acquisition, a vital component of the country’s new economic growth strategy aimed at accelerating economic growth to a rate of 6% by 2010.
The survey found that only 4% of IT professionals were considering seeking employment outside South Africa. Jovanovic said this was encouraging for the country as it stepped up efforts to reach its economic goals. But she expressed concern over government plans to headhunt IT skills abroad, saying she did not understand which skills government was planning to acquire that the industry did not already have.
At executive management level, chief information officers reported the highest median of R47,500 a month, leaving behind chief executive officers, who reported a median of slightly more than R34,000. At operational management level, chief architects topped the list, with a monthly median of R31,000. At staff level, the hottest jobs according to the survey were software architects, who earned between R30,000 and R100,000 a month. Help-desk specialists, technicians and call-centre specialists were the least-paid jobs in the sector, earning about R9,000 a month.
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