Critical Skills

Education: The grassroots of professional occupations.

One of the most important new additions to the Critical Skills List is the inclusion of the teaching fields.

Foreign Nationals who completed their studies in a one of the occupations listed on the Critical Skills List, were in the past, under Ministerial waiver, granted exemption from certain requirements. One of the requirements being post qualification experience, as well as the requirement for a letter confirming they qualify as a Critical Skill, from the Professional Body they registered with. These exemptions have now been withdrawn and all applicants must comply with the full requirements of the Immigration Act.

Gazetted in February 2022, the latest Critical Skills List added numerous skills that have been in short supply in South Africa for some time. The list was previously updated back in 2014.

Xpatweb, in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and the American Chamber of Commerce, recently hosted an event to unpack the new Critical Skills List, its roadmap to fruition and new technicalities that have come to light since its release.

South Africa faces a continuing shortage of essential skills, according to Adcorp, a publicly traded workforce solutions company, particularly in the areas of nursing and information technology.