Brain drain: South Africa is losing critical skills

Source: The South African

South Africa is losing critical skills. Images by Jonathan Borba and Gustavo Fring / Pexels

South Africa is losing critical skills as more professionals are leaving the country. Thousands of professionals are following the example of healthcare workers and emigrating.

Canadian immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis from Beaver Immigration told Business Tech that the number of South African professionals wanting to move abroad has increased significantly, indicating that South Africa is losing critical skills.

Thousands of South African businesses, tradespeople, IT specialists, and other professionals are choosing to leave South Africa and relocate to other countries. Their main reasons for considering emigration include citing salary, unemployment, and political uncertainty.

Avramis stated that Beaver Immigration has seen a 31% rise in the processing of Canadian work permit applications from South Africans. By the end of 2023, they processed over 4 000 immigration applications. Additionally, from January 2023 up to now, his offices have received approximately 17 000 inquiries from South Africans considering emigration. Since 2015, Canada has granted 14 205 South Africans permanent residence.

Beaver Immigration receives approximately 20 emails per day from South African doctors, nurses, and caregivers. Avramis said that most of the applications they receive are from healthcare workers. This is followed by tradespeople, business owners, and information technology (IT) professionals.

Cyprus, UAE, and Qatar are also popular options to immigrate to among South African healthcare professionals. There is a shortage of qualified and English-speaking healthcare professionals in these countries. Therefore, they are appealing options for South Africans thinking about emigration.

There seems to be a variety of reasons why so many professionals are considering emigration. Political uncertainty and bureaucracy in the system is one of the top reasons. The recent signing of the National Healthcare Insurance (NHI) Bill is the primary reasons for most healthcare workers wanting to emigrate. Healthcare professionals see the NHI as a threat to their livelihood.

Other emigration reasons include stagnant salaries and unemployment.

Business Tech reported at the end of last year, that middle-income employees earning the average take-home pay in South Africa are over R10 000 poorer than they were in 2016, due to inflation and stagnant salaries. Persistently high interest rates, inflation and salaries not being adjusted accordingly, continue to impact people's disposable income.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics South Africa indicated that the number of unemployed persons increased by 330 000 to 8.2 million during the first quarter of 2024. According to Stats SA, the official unemployment rate in South Africa stands at 32.9%.