Government says too many skilled people have left South Africa – and it wants to bring them back
The government is considering new strategies to keep hold of skilled South Africans as part of its new National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP).
The NLMP, which was published for public comment on Monday (28 February), details several measures to attract skilled workers to the country while keeping undesirable, unskilled workers out.
Attraction and retention of skills, particularly of critical skills, in the country, regardless of whether they are local or foreign, should be made a priority within the provisions of international and national legal obligations, the Department of Employment and Labour said.
“This implies that there should be regular updating and closer monitoring of critical skills lists in relation with policy impact and clear management on targets, it said.
“Conversely, since 1994, South Africa has been losing substantial numbers of skilled and experienced professionals to emigration with documented records.”
The department pointed to data from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) which shows 19% of all registered South African Chartered Accountants were working abroad.
Health is another case in point with the World Health Organization (WHO) pointing to South Africa as one of the African countries with the largest number of doctors abroad, it said.
“In addition to coordinated incentives for retention of skills, there should be coordinated programmes maintaining links with professionals in the diaspora and creative and flexible pathways for their temporary or permanent return maximising their possible contribution to South African society, without undermining in any manner citizens’ fundamental right of movement.
“Experience of such measures from Asia, but also from some African countries, could inspire this dimension.”
The department added that the emigration of skilled South Africans has not been addressed thoroughly in any policy document for years.
“Policy efforts should ensure that they capture the full scope of the issue and develop appropriate, innovative and effective policy responses,” it said.
Some of the proposed initiatives include:
- Regular ‘diaspora mapping’;
- Counter-attrition policies based on international benchmarking for wages;
- Incentives for temporary and permanent return;
- Rosters of experts and coordination of professionals’ associations.
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