Top talent still sought

Demand good despite sluggish economy

WHILE the South African professional labour market continues to be unpredictable in a difficult economy‚ key sectors are investing in hiring the skills they need‚ according to a salary survey by a recruitment consultancy.

“It is pleasing to see the financial services sector maintaining its need to hire top talent‚ not just in the form of bankers and accountants‚ but also support functions like IT‚ digital and human resources,” the Michael Page Africa group said yesterday.

“Fast-moving consumer goods and retail organisations are also on the rebound when it comes to hiring requirements‚ and surprisingly mining services-related companies continue to be active for niche talent or senior staff.”

It noted continued investment from multinational firms across a variety of industry sectors who were investing or setting up in South Africa – while the IT and telecoms‚ industrial and 3PL-supply chain sectors [third-party logistics] pointed towards maintaining their human capital needs.

The company handles recruitment for multinationals and medium-to-large African businesses.

“The sub-Saharan African region also has a significant impact on recruitment needs in South Africa‚ with many head offices based mainly in Johannesburg or Cape Town,” Michael Page Africa managing director Nathan Byrne said.

“Whether it is management-level positions based in South Africa or technical-niche roles which are based here but travel extensively in the region‚ the growth of these markets is helping to fuel the South African labour market.”

Salaries and bonuses tended to have followed a consistent pattern over the past five years with steady increases to reflect inflationary pressures‚ he said.

“Like any labour market‚ there are a number of profiles and skills who are able to demand above-market remunerations due to a low supply of such talent.”

The salary survey provides a snapshot of earnings across various fields, in companies of differing sizes‚ including:

ý An average annual wage of R350 000 for a top candidate attorney to R650 000 for an in-house junior counsel;

ý Chief human resources officer at R2.9-million‚ HR manager at R1-million and HR office at R450 000;

ý IT database administrators can earn an average R850 000 a year and IT support engineers R400 000;

ý Chief information officers cost companies R1.6-million; and

ý Financial accountants (CA) SA earn about R700 000, while an engineering and manufacturing project manager earns an average of R900 000 annually.

The growth of these markets is helping to fuel the labour market