Five groups of professionals flooding out of South Africa

A new report from Statistics Canada revealed that five groups of skilled professionals are leading the migration out of South Africa.

They include farmers and agricultural workers, recreation and sports professionals, mechanics, specialist physicians, and financial auditors and accountants.

Andrew Woodburn, the managing director at Amrop Woodburn Mann, said it is devastating to South Africa to lose these professionals.

Amrop Woodburn Mann is one of Africa’s largest executive search firms and leaders in headhunting, board, and leadership advisory across Africa.

Woodburn said the six main countries attracting South African talent are the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, Canada, and New Zealand.

He said these countries benefit from South Africa’s poor talent policies and other matters, making it attractive for skilled professionals to consider emigration.

“Other countries prey on South Africa’s poor policies that are triggering people into leaving. They are attracting the talent which is valuable to them,” he said.

He explained that many countries proactively attract talent through numerous initiatives, like information evenings.

Embassies, for example, pitch to local professionals about what skills they are looking for in their country and what the rewards might be.

Particularly concerning is that South Africa does not have the right policy environment to replace these skills by attracting foreign skilled professionals.

“South Africa’s labour guidelines at senior executive level sends the message that ‘we do not want anybody of talent here’,” Woodburn said.

“Over the last three decades, it has been really difficult to get permits to bring top talent into South Africa.”

The government’s message is that attracting foreign talent to South Africa means they will take a job from a local person.

However, the reality is that there is so much demand in South Africa that the country is suffering from a lack of skills.

“This is bad for South Africa’s economy and skills pool,” Woodburn told Stephen Grootes in an interview on The Money Show.

He highlighted that South Africa is battling to retain its most valuable professionals, which put training and upskilling other professionals at risk.

“Our worry at an economics level is that if we lose the top end of the pyramid, can we support, upskill, and engage the mid and lower levels,” he said.

Professional groups leaving South Africa

The Statistics Canada report revealed that many of South Africa’s most valuable professionals are leaving. They include:

• Farmers and agricultural workers – They face constant security threats, including rising crime in rural areas, pushing them to seek more secure work environments.

• Recreation and sports professionals – Other countries offer these professionals more opportunities and higher pay packages.

• Mechanics – They are increasingly looking to build careers in countries like Canada, where demand for skilled tradespeople is high.

• Medical professionals – Poor working conditions in South Africa and policies like the NHI are chasing doctors, nurses, and specialists out of the country.

• Financial auditors and accountants – Global opportunities have seen thousands of South African finance professionals leaving the country.

Factors like safety concerns, limited career advancement, and competitive pay and conditions abroad drive this trend.

South African financial professionals often face challenges tied to economic instability and market volatility, factors which create uncertainty in career progression and earnings.

The strong demand for financial expertise abroad, paired with better incentives, makes emigration an attractive option for South Africa’s financial professionals.

For South Africa, their departure represents an economic loss and a blow to the development of essential sectors that rely on their expertise.