Artisans and AI Experts Join Engineers on South Africa’s Scarce Skills List, Latest Benchmark Survey Shows

Preliminary results from a benchmark survey of South Africa's most critical skills suggest that engineers remain the most difficult professionals to recruit, closely followed by ICT experts and skilled artisans. 

While the ongoing shortage of engineers is well documented, the deficit in artisans has seen a marked resurgence since the previous survey—marking its re-entry into the top ten most elusive skilled occupations for the first time in years. 

The survey, conducted by immigration specialist Xpatweb, also saw AI and Emerging Tech make a debut on the top ten scarce skills list, despite being a newly introduced survey category. 

"There are some very interesting results coming out of the preliminary findings," said Xpatweb Senior Immigration Consultant Keri Culver. ""We're seeing the demand for artisans grow significantly, with current demand ahead of AI and Emerging Tech, and this may be due to a drop-off in trade qualifications—that is what our data is showing."  

Culver noted that rapid technological advancement is likely to translate into further significant shifts in the labor market. 

First conducted in 2017, the Xpatweb survey is currently in its ninth iteration. The current survey cycle closes on September 30. Results from the initiative directly inform the government's official Critical Skills List and shape related visa application processes. 

The survey provides the private sector with a direct platform to articulate its recruitment hurdles, Culver explained. "The initial purpose was to identify key skills that South African employers were struggling to find locally, and to pave the way for potential additions to the critical skills list. There are other surveys, but this is unique in that it comes directly from business." 

Culver added that recent digital enhancements to Department of Home Affairs visa application processes are beginning to bear fruit. "The Department's historical challenges have plagued it for many years, but there is now a continuous process of improvement across both General Work and Critical Skills Work Visa processes," she said. 

She identified the Points-Based system introduced in 2024 as a major turning point in system efficiency. Previously, applicants seeking to apply for a General Work visa in South Africa required a letter from the Department of Labour confirming the role could not be filled locally—a requirement that resulted in massive backlogs and hundreds of thousands of waiver applications. 

Looking ahead, Culver noted that full transition to an electronic application framework will provide further relief.  "The Department of Home Affairs is (finally) moving away from paper-based applications. We are one of the last countries to do this. We need critical skills coming in but we have made it extremely difficult for them to come in."    

Participate in the Xpatweb survey HERE