Mashatile on why the country is hiring foreigners while millions of South Africans are jobless

Deputy President Paul Mashatile says South Africa is currently hiring foreigners in highly-skilled professions to drive long-term benefits for the country.

Mashatile addressed MPs in the National Assembly on Thursday, explaining South Africa’s approach to outsourcing critical skills in fields like science and engineering.

Mashatile on SA hiring high-skilled foreigners

During Q&A session, the deputy president acknowledged concerns about prioritising foreign expertise over local talent development, especially in light of the country’s high unemployment rate.

“One of the reasons why we source these critical skills on the critical skills list from outside the republic is because the skills that are offered within the country do not always match market requirements.

“Consequently, we are implementing various measures to revolutionise our skills offering,” he said on Thursday.

Mashatile explained that the critical skills list is a tool used to issue visas to foreign nationals with expertise in areas where there is a “significant domestic shortage”.

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He noted that, in the short term, the South African labour market cannot supply enough skilled individuals to meet demand.

The deputy president highlighted that South Africa has introduced several policies, strategies, and initiatives — such as the National Skills Fund — to address skills development and close the country’s skills gaps.

“Addressing skills deficiencies and implementing human resource development programmes can strengthen the South African economy.

“By investing in skills development and fostering strategic partnerships, the country can contribute to workforce growth and avoid reliance on outsourced skills from abroad, ensuring increased local employment rate. This is what we want to achieve in the long-term.”

Watch the Q&A session below:

Mashatile further stated that government-initiated programmes are already underway, with “a lot of progress” being made.

“This intervention was very important particularly because the private sector being part of this as well have been able to bring the necessary resources to match as we ensure roll out this programme of critical skills.”

Government doesn’t want unemployed graduates – Mashatile

The deputy president conceded that the ANC-led government has had ample time to develop skills within South Africa.

“Many of us are concerned that 30 years is a lot of time and that’s why you will hear in most cases when we indicate what we deal with, we do emphasis the issue of urgency to accelerate these interventions.

“Of course, some of them would not be easily achieved overnight as some people would say ‘Rome was not built in one day’.

READ MORE: Home Affairs urged to exhaust local skills before granting foreigners visas

“So, there’s a big challenge to achieve, these are huge objectives and targets we have set for ourselves.

“We don’t want a situation where, because of a lack of skills, young people are then abused, but certainly I can assure you that it’s not an intention of government to keep young people unskilled.

“We don’t want to have unemployed graduates,” Mashatile added.

Critical skills list for foreigners

The critical skills list was last updated in October 2023, with new jobs including veterinarians being added following a gazette published by the Department of Home Affairs.

The list now comprises 142 professions overall including 35 different medical practitioner classifications and at least 70 jobs that require an NQF level eight or higher.

Individuals who meet the requirements can apply for a critical skills visa or a permanent residence permit.

According to Home Affairs, critical skills visas are not work-seeker visas and must be accompanied by an offer of employment from employers who are verifiable and in good standing with the Department of Employment and Labour.

Recently, Home Affairs confirmed that it has approved 4 913 of these critical skills visas since 2020.

Zimbabweans and Indians have been the most frequent recipients of the critical skills visas, with 1 794 and 918 approvals, respectively.

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