Career Opportunities Guide
2014/15
Our Vision:
To be recognised as the leader in the development of a highly skilled
knowledge-based information society.
Our Mission:
The MICT Seta generates, facilitates and accelerates the processes of quality
skills development at all levels in the MICT sector.
Table of Contents
1Introduction
2Sector Profile
2.1MICT SETA Sub-sectors
2.2Number of employers
2.3Number of employers per sub-sector per size
2.4Number of employees per sub-sector
2.5Racial distribution per sub-sector
2.6Employees by Occupation Group
3Demand and Supply of Skills
3.1Introduction
3.2Labour demand
3.3Scarce Skills demand
3.4Approach to identifying scarce and critical skills
3.5Overview of scarce skills
3.5.1Advertising
3.5.2 Film and Electronic Media
3.5.3Electronics
3.5.4Information Technology
3.5.5Telecommunications
3.6Overview of critical skills
3.7Supply of Skills into the MICT Sector
3.7.1FET/HET landscape and enrolments in relevant qualifications
3.7.2Other providers
3.8Learning Programmes
3.9PIVOTAL programmes
3.10Registered qualifications
3.11Utilisation of Qualifications
3.12Training Conducted in the Sector
4Summary
5Conclusion
6Contact us
Sector Skills Planning:
Learning Programmes
ETQA
1Introduction
The purpose of the Career Opportunities Guide is to provide an overview of the MICT sector skills requirements within the South African context. The information for developing the Guide was gathered through multiple data sources and research methods:
Desk research was conducted by sourcing and reviewing documents and data from several institutions including Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), and the Bureau for Economic Research (BER). This data is complemented by other desktop and online research reports that are sub-sector specific and those that are generic about the South African economy.
An ICT skills survey report developed by the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering in conjunction with MICT SETA and supported by the Computer Society of South Africa, the Information Technology Association of South Africa and ITWeb
An analysis of the workplace skills plans (WSP) and annual training report (ATR) submissions was conducted to determine the level of skills need and supply amongst employers submitting these documents periodically to MICT SETA
In-depth Interviews were conducted with key informants and stakeholders with knowledge of the sector to gain insights about the dynamics of the sector and issues relating to skills development
Focus groups were conducted across all sub-sectors, including targeted sessions with the small businesses in the sector to confirm scarce skills
The MICT SETA endeavours to develop strategic quality human capital in relation to the needs of the South African MICT Sector that will contribute to social upliftment and the stimulation of economic growth by raising the levels, quality and relevance of education and training in the sector. The development of the Career Opportunities Guide is aimed at building and promoting a competent workforce. It provides career opportunity information in the MICT Sector and it targets employers and training providers. Employers can use the Guide to assess the extent to which their scarce and critical skill requirements are in demand while the training providers can assess whether their curricula encompass the requisite skills. The Guide is also intended to assist:
Learners in schools to make subject choices
Matriculants to make career choices
Young graduates who need to find employment
Employees within the MICT sub–sectors to further develop their careers.
Even though ICT is used throughout the economy, it is important to note that the MICT SETA currently records the skills needs of its stakeholder companies. This Career Opportunities Guide primarily captures the MICT Sector specifically, hence the exclusion of ICT skill demands of other SETA sectors, unless stated otherwise.
2Sector Profile
The MICT sector is made up of five sub-sectors that are varied but interconnected and at the forefront of information and communication technology.
2.1MICT SETA Sub-sectors
The five sub-sectors comprise:
Advertising
Film and Electronic Media
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
2.2Number of employers
There are over 19,500 employers in the sector broken down as follows:
Table 1: The MICT Sector Number of Employers per Sub Sector
Sub-Sector / TotalAdvertising / 2,303
Film and Electronic Media / 2,151
Electronics / 2,469
Information Technology / 9,398
Telecommunications / 1,228
Unknown / 1,963
Total / 19,515
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
2.3Number of employers per sub-sector per size
About 95% of the employers are small with less than 50 employees, and levy-paying employers constitute only 20%.
Table 2: The MICT Sector Size of Employers per Sub Sector
Sub-Sector / 0-49 / 50-149 / 150+ / TotalAdvertising / 2252 / 40 / 11 / 2303
Film and Electronic Media / 2072 / 38 / 41 / 2151
Electronics / 2304 / 98 / 67 / 2469
Information Technology / 8961 / 297 / 140 / 9398
Telecommunications / 1112 / 72 / 44 / 1228
Unknown / 1936 / 17 / 10 / 1963
Total / 18640 / 562 / 313 / 19515
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
2.4Number of employees per sub-sector
Figure 1: Number of Employees by Sub-sector, 2009 to 2013
Source: The MICT SETA OGS
In terms of race segmentation of employees, there are more white people (40%) employed than other race groups across all the sub-sectors. Africans constitute over 37% of all employees in the sector whilst Indians are the least represented employees. As can be seen from the figure below, Information Technology has the highest proportion of white employees as compared to other sub-sectors while Telecommunications and Film and Electronic Media have the highest proportion Africans.
2.5Racial distribution per sub-sector
Figure 2: Race Distribution of Employees
Source: The MICT SETA OGS
In terms of employment equity, the sectors still have some way to go in ensuring that those employed are representative of the demographics of the country. Skills shortages are rated as one of the most important factors hindering the success and sustainability of companies in the sector. Challenges are however, faced in the form of the transfer of critical skills to designated groups, this is progressing at a slower rate than expected. Focused skills development interventions will serve as one of the strategic mechanisms employers should consider in redressing this situation.
HIV/Aids
According to StatsSA[1] the total number of people living with HIV is estimated at approximately 5, 26 million in 2013. Of adults aged 15–49 years, an estimated 15,9% of the population is HIV positive. The HSRC[2] key findings of the 2012 household survey show that an estimated 6.4 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in 2012, and that over 2 million people were on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by mid-2012. This dramatic increase of ARV treatment in the country has had a major impact on the survival of people living with HIV, which was more prominent in the older age groups. There has been a decline of HIV prevalence among youth aged 15 – 24 years, however, the context of current HIV/AIDS trends resulted in the reduction of high skilled labour and the capacity to replace the human capital (the response by management, and the effectiveness of government interventions) is becoming critical. A less experienced and particularly young workforce might result in declining productivity; this may call for increased skills development interventions to respond to the HIV/Aids dilemma.
2.6Employees by Occupation Group
It is important to understand the occupational make up of employees in the sector as this ultimately has implications on the types of skills development intervention required. There are more professionals than any other occupational category in the sector. Professionals constitute 37% of all employees in the sector. Managers and clerical support workers each represent 15% of the reported total workforce.
Employment within managers, professionals and associate professionals categories typically require a degree, diploma or NQF level 6 qualifications as an entry. These categories collectively account for 68% of all employees in the sector. As compared to other economic sectors, which employ more people in elementary occupations, this sector reflects the converse and could be attributed to the professional services orientation of offerings by employers in the sector.
Figure 3: Employee Breakdown by Major Group
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
Across all sub-sectors, there are more professionals as compared to other occupational categories. They are followed by managers and clerical support workers each representing 15% of the total workforce of employers submitting WSPs. Across all sub-sectors, elementary occupations and plant and machine operators have the lowest representivity. The implication of this spread amongst occupational categories is that the MICT SETA has to focus on the production of mid to higher level skills.
Table 3: Number of Employees by OFO Sub Major and Sub-sector
Major OFO Group / Advertising / Electronic Media and Film / Electronics / Information Technology / Telecommunications / Total1 Managers / 1531 / 1316 / 3265 / 9864 / 8024 / 25543
2 Professionals / 3219 / 4386 / 6220 / 29354 / 13699 / 60482
3 Technicians and Associate Professionals / 963 / 2675 / 4579 / 10486 / 4586 / 24315
4 Clerical Support workers / 1075 / 3208 / 3273 / 10216 / 6715 / 25736
5 Service and Sales Workers / 200 / 268 / 569 / 1963 / 2470 / 5795
6 Skilled Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, Craft And Related Trades Workers / 206 / 298 / 1457 / 1549 / 9389 / 13270
7 Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers / 229 / 228 / 798 / 782 / 623 / 2744
8 Elementary Occupations / 224 / 659 / 722 / 2275 / 510 / 4737
Total / 7647 / 13038 / 20883 / 66489 / 46016 / 162622
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
The following figure presents the number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by gender. As can be observed, the sector is very male dominated with 63% of all employees being male. At the managerial, professional and technical occupational levels there are more males than females. Amongst the elementary occupations there appears to be an even split between male and female whilst clerical support workers and service and sales workers have a higher female representivity.
Table 4: Major Group by Gender
Major OFO Group / Male / Female1 Managers / 17081 / 8462
2 Professionals / 41052 / 19430
3 Technicians and Associate Professionals / 15541 / 8774
4 Clerical Support workers / 9059 / 16677
5 Service and Sales Workers / 2735 / 3060
6 Skilled Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, Craft And Related Trades Workers / 11350 / 1920
7 Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers / 2183 / 573
8 Elementary Occupations / 2808 / 1929
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
In terms of race, Whites account for 61% of total managers reported and 50% for professional roles. Amongst plant and machine operators and elementary occupations Africans are the majority accounting for 68% and 81% respectively. This implies that Africans are holding lower level positions whilst their white colleagues have a higher representivity in more senior roles.
Table 5: Major Group by Race
Major OFO Group / African / Coloured / Indian / White1 Managers / 4694 / 2143 / 3053 / 15653
2 Professionals / 17593 / 5405 / 6928 / 30556
3 Technicians and Associate Professionals / 10374 / 3106 / 2371 / 8464
4 Clerical Support workers / 13814 / 4111 / 2198 / 5613
5 Service and Sales Workers / 2212 / 901 / 948 / 1734
6 Skilled Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, Craft And Related Trades Workers / 6688 / 1936 / 921 / 3725
7 Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers / 1873 / 529 / 190 / 164
8 Elementary Occupations / 3872 / 471 / 57 / 337
Total / 61120 / 18602 / 16666 / 66246
Source: The MICT SETA OGS, 2013
The racial profile for the sector when observed according to occupational categories has some significant implications for transformation in the sector. In terms of skills development, there is a need to capacitate and up-skill Africans so that they can over time access more senior roles and managerial roles can be more representative of the demographics of the country.
3Demand and Supply of Skills
3.1Introduction
This section starts off by discussing labour demand in the MICT sector based on the data from the sector profile and sector analysis. Thereafter, it outlines challenges being experienced in quantifying scarce skills demand in a more coherent manner. MICT SETA has started using various research methods to achieve a level of triangulation in the demand for scarce and critical skills in the sector. Methods being used include the traditional reliance on WSPs and ATRs submissions as well as interviews with selected stakeholders in all the sub-sectors and an electronic survey.
3.2Labour demand
Demand for labour is a function of a number of factors. As output in the economy increases, firms are likely to employ more people. As outlined in the previous chapter, all the sub-sectors are anticipating growth in the medium term and this could have a positive impact on the demand for additional people.
In terms of expected growth rates per sub-sector, Advertising 8% y.o.y compounded, Film and Electronic Media 7.4% y.o.y compounded, Electronics 11,4%, Information Technology 8% and Telecommunications approximately 10%
It was reported in chapter 1 that about 6% of employees in the sector are above the age of 55 implying that they are nearing retirement and will have to be replaced in the next five years, considering a retirement age of 60
Interviews with stakeholders in the sector have pointed to high levels of labour turnover. They cited the fact that the skills employed in the sector are also applicable in other sectors of the economy
As articulated in previous section, the sector employs more managers, professionals and technicians and associate professionals. These occupational categories generally require training in mid to higher-level skills.
The expected economic growth in the sector, coupled with the anticipated retirements and attrition and other exits from the sector indicates a need for increased demand for labour in the sector. Although at a slow pace, the sector overall experienced an increase in total employment between 2002 and 2012 and this is likely to continue, at least in the medium term. As posited by Schofield (2013), in relation to the ICT sector, “so with Gartner predicting 1,9 million new technology jobs in the USA to support Big Data analytics by 2015, the European Union forecasting a shortage of 700 000 entry-level skills by 2015, Australia predicting a shortfall of 35 000 IT workers in the same time frame, ICANN suggesting a shortage of between 20 000 and 40 000 computer security experts in the USA, what can we expect for South Africa?”
3.3Scarce Skills demand
MICT SETA is required to focus primarily on the development of scarce and critical skills in the sectors. There are various ways of understanding demand for skills in an economic sector. These include:
In the WSP submissions from stakeholder organisations, MICT SETA requires SDFs to provide data on the training interventions that they intend conducting. In other words, an indication of planned demand.
During interviews, employers were asked to comment on occupations that they were finding difficult to recruit. This provided “top of mind” examples of such occupations by those interviewed.
The survey conducted amongst employers in the sector also provides some indications of scarce and critical skills demand.
Although an analysis of WSPs provides indications for demand in terms of planned training to take place in the sector, there are instances where training is conducted to “claim” back money from the SETAs and often this distorts the picture. Employers have indicated that they often do not provide in the WSP the training that they are self-funding and only include the training where they expect the SETA to provide funding and which is in line with funding guidelines. This obviously distorts the picture.
The MICT SETA also requests SDFs to provide data on the occupations they had difficulty filling and to forecast their anticipated difficulties in recruiting experienced and qualified people over a four-year period as follows:
Immediate – these are immediate as at end March2013
Anticipated need for the period 1stApril 2013 to 31stMarch 2014
Anticipated need for the period 1stApril 2014 to 31stMarch 2015
Anticipated need for the period 1stApril 2015 to 31stMarch 2016
One of the major limitations of the demand data is the lack of submissions from all the employers in the sector. However, this is circumvented through modelling techniques, which extrapolate the data for the whole population.
3.4Approach to identifying scarce and critical skills
As part of their work, SETAs analyse demand for skills from employers within the sector of their respective sub-sectors. The demand for skills takes various forms:
Recruitment difficulties: There are instances when employers experience difficulties recruiting. Some of the reasons could be linked with the shortage of skilled and qualified people for the identified vacancies. That could signal a need for training of people to increase a pool of qualified people. It could of course be that there are sufficient people in the market but the job or industry or even particular company does not have a good image and therefore does not attract good skills. No amount of training of new people will turn things around. A particular TV station could have difficulties recruiting Camera Technicians even though there is a high supply of such people in the market. The people with the necessary skills could have a particular dislike for the TV station or there could be better opportunities in the film making business making working in TV less attractive. No matter how many more people are trained, they could still choose not to work there because of the lack of attractiveness of working in the particular organisation, sub-sector or job.
Skills Gaps: there are times when people particular jobs, roles or occupations require people with particular skills but there is shortage of people with those skills. Due to the dynamic nature of the MICT sector with technologies changing constantly, people employed in the sector and those not currently employed could find themselves lacking certain skills because of changes in technology. In other words, there is a supply of qualified people but they lack the particular skill required. These skills gaps are sometimes referred to as critical skills, which are basically skills that are critical for a particular job or occupation but which are lacking amongst those qualified and available to work. There is need for training to top up the skills that these people already possess. For example, as programming languages evolve, Programmers and Developers with knowledge of older languages could soon find themselves not being able to operate in the world of new programming languages and new technologies. There is however some additional specialised skills that one needs which are additional requirements for such a job. In other words, there is a skills gap amongst those who are qualified and available to work.
Skills shortages: this is when there are not sufficient numbers of qualified people to fill certain vacancies. One can think of the number of medical doctors being produced by the universities in the country annually. If say there are only 500 electrical engineers being produced annually but there are currently vacancies for 4000 engineers across the economy, it could take 8 years to fill all vacancies. Of course electrical engineers might die, emigrate or retire and in that way, more vacancies would exist and there would be an even bigger need that just 4000 for engineers. In such instances certain employers could elect to import qualified and experienced people from countries that have an over-supply or which pay lower salaries. Skills development could play an integral part in alleviating such problems.