11 professional skills in top demand in South Africa
Recruiters are constantly looking for recruits with managerial skills.
We live in a world where following your passion is becoming less and less appealing if you want to make money. Yes, some have leapt and are thriving in it, but it's best to do your research for those who don't know what their passion is.
A recent article in Business Tech revealed that 11 professional skills have been in top demand for South African companies over the last three years.
"Managerial staff on a department level are in particularly high demand, the group said, with recruiters constantly looking for candidates with these skills.
According to Pnet, this is specifically for roles like finance managers, sales managers, operations managers as well as business development and HR managers, who are highly sought after, " the article reads.
Software development is the second most in-demand skill for sourcing candidates, despite a significant decline in job advertisements in this industry.
The report adds: "IT professionals also draw some of the highest salaries, with Pnet highlighting salary ranges for data engineers between R42,900 and R59,100 per month, and Java Developers at R42,900 and R56,600 per month.
Pnet said its data shows that recruiters search for profiles of software engineers most frequently, and that these candidates are also scarcer than others."
A rise in bookkeeping saw this field move ahead of HR professionals, Team leaders and Supervisors.
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However, hiring activity in South Africa is not at its most stable, with a 4% decline in recruitment between March 2023 and March 2025.
While this poses a volatile environment for the local job market, there are some positives in some sectors.
The design, media, and arts sector has experienced a 78% jump in hiring activity from last year, with the trend increasing month-on-month in February.
Pnet said that this sector has consistently increased hiring activity since October 2024.
"Sales and marketing also remain on a growth trajectory, with hiring activity increasing 41% and 6% and 44% and 7% on a year/year and month/month basis, respectively," reports Business Tech.
The Pnet Job Market Trends Report is based on empirical data from The Stepstone Group South Africa’s online recruitment platforms, which currently hold a combined database of over 9 million registered users.
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