Here’s a pro-tip for those leaving tertiary studies who are still undecided about their job path: study to become a Java developer.
Job search engine Adzuna recently conducted a study to find out what are the most sought-after skills in the country, and ‘Java Developer’ topped the list. It’s also not that surprising to find an incredible amount of jobs in the technology space.
“While not every job in demand is posted online, the trends shown by the sample data are clear and meaningful. Companies must dig deep to explore new ways of attracting programming and engineering skills, as well as some of those in the financial or accountancy area. Management skills too, represent a challenge,” said Jesse Green, country manager for Adzuna South Africa.
Through its research by analysing over 130 000 job postings and applications in South Africa, it found that the most sought-after skills in the country are:
Job skill or title |
Demand from companies |
Demand from job seekers |
“Rareness” factor |
Average salary – Sept 2016 |
Average salary – May 2016 |
java developer |
2181 |
19 |
114,8 |
R528 135 |
R525 369 |
financial accountant |
996 |
11 |
90,5 |
R439 920 |
R422 844 |
developer |
15601 |
224 |
69,6 |
R470 872 |
R486 281 |
php developer |
1458 |
23 |
63,4 |
R395 950 |
R401 590 |
web developer |
1366 |
32 |
42,7 |
R407 987 |
R442 016 |
assistant manager |
948 |
25 |
37,9 |
R218 449 |
R197 904 |
software developer |
1219 |
33 |
36,9 |
R496 747 |
R507 944 |
recruiter |
2450 |
108 |
22,7 |
R513 326 |
R475 724 |
net developer |
939 |
50 |
18,8 |
R467 460 |
R457 940 |
consultant |
5644 |
397 |
14,2 |
R277 493 |
R275 716 |
technologist |
929 |
70 |
13,3 |
R486 118 |
R473 417 |
executive |
3058 |
262 |
11,7 |
R315 045 |
R307 892 |
analyst |
4054 |
361 |
11,2 |
R531 762 |
R529 491 |
accountant |
3934 |
376 |
10,5 |
R418 910 |
R415 556 |
pharmacist |
1284 |
192 |
6,7 |
R506 418 |
R568 405 |
designer |
1861 |
280 |
6,6 |
R363 890 |
R393 921 |
coordinator |
1044 |
267 |
3,9 |
R246 187 |
R211 475 |
planner |
872 |
227 |
3,8 |
R449 795 |
R417 609 |
project manager |
1370 |
359 |
3,8 |
R558 330 |
R551 704 |
engineer |
8238 |
2266 |
3,6 |
R596 996 |
R565 653 |
business analyst |
1304 |
361 |
3,6 |
R569 417 |
R548 304 |
manager |
22631 |
6479 |
3,5 |
R498 565 |
R484 938 |
quantity surveyor |
901 |
269 |
3,3 |
R532 380 |
R482 622 |
civil engineer |
869 |
269 |
3,2 |
R592 809 |
R595 538 |
bookkeeper |
1336 |
490 |
2,7 |
R181 150 |
R205 298 |
controller |
2331 |
871 |
2,7 |
R345 115 |
R364 566 |
secretary |
1008 |
464 |
2,2 |
R168 895 |
R187 767 |
officer |
4026 |
1894 |
2,1 |
R286 784 |
R281 632 |
technician |
2485 |
1205 |
2,1 |
R227 406 |
R269 947 |
surveyor |
1035 |
510 |
2,0 |
R561 940 |
R477 961 |
foreman |
891 |
549 |
1,6 |
R453 944 |
R410 078 |
assistant |
5372 |
3328 |
1,6 |
R151 827 |
R168 280 |
clerk |
3334 |
2078 |
1,6 |
R141 018 |
R133 952 |
supervisor |
1514 |
1102 |
1,4 |
R253 359 |
R260 419 |
salesperson |
1894 |
1400 |
1,4 |
R267 329 |
R233 467 |
operator |
2311 |
2500 |
0,9 |
R392 775 |
R408 920 |
sales manager |
1145 |
1400 |
0,8 |
R436 646 |
R414 721 |
chef |
1409 |
1800 |
0,8 |
R157 660 |
R178 609 |
nurse |
1768 |
2404 |
0,7 |
R283 224 |
R317 664 |
mechanic |
1330 |
1827 |
0,7 |
R464 945 |
R439 354 |
registered nurse |
936 |
3497 |
0,3 |
R276 671 |
R285 932 |
administrator |
4550 |
18000 |
0,3 |
R184 159 |
R205 468 |
receptionist |
1705 |
6962 |
0,2 |
R97 464 |
R102 780 |
driver |
1814 |
14685 |
0,1 |
R111 919 |
R100 373 |
Adzuna explained that “engineers and developers, together with financial skills, are clearly the hardest to find, with the most demand from firms, yet with the least available candidates. Interestingly, recruiters are now a hot skill with many organisations and agencies requiring recruitment specialists in their HR departments.”
It added that the technology space is definitely the place to be working in. “Now, with finance skills showing an increasing difficulty to recruit, it will be interesting to see how companies, and hopefully the South African government, ensure that South African firms are able to hire the right people with the best competencies.”
[Image – CC by 2.0/BigOakFlickr]