Job Seekers Should Look To The IT Sector

28 May 2013

Career experts recommend that young South Africans seek employment in growth sectors like technology, where the entire continent is currently experiencing a major skills shortage.

"With current unemployment levels in the region of 25% the job market is incredibly competitive," says corporate coach Godfrey Madanhire, "and job seekers need to be smart." He advises recent graduates and those looking into new career paths to look into sectors where skills are in high demand.

"There is such a shortage of IT professionals in South Africa, for example, that companies are outsourcing them from overseas. South Africans entering the job market need to look to careers in sectors like app development and e-learning in particular, where there are currently plenty of job openings and where future growth is expected."

Skills gap in local mobile app development

Hugh Page, an app developer at a leading digital agency, says that there is a major skills gap in the local mobile app development market, which is growing steadily. App development is a highly skilled field and many companies expect junior app developers to have a tertiary level qualification in computer science or IT.

"The digital space changes constantly," says Page, "so this is a field in which you never stop learning. Based on experience, the average salary for a junior app developer ranges from R8,000-R10,000 and most companies are dedicated to upskilling their staff by necessity, meaning salaries increase as over time as skills do."

E-learning development

Another sector seeing dramatic growth in South Africa is e-learning development. The international e-learning industry is expected to be worth US$107 billion globally by 2015 and South African organisations are increasingly investing in the technology, meaning employment opportunities are likely to continue to increase.

The industry currently has the most demand for instructional designers, who need a wide range of skills.

"Instructional designers, whose job it is to take learning material and make it fun, interactive and suitable for digital devices like computers and cellphones, need a number of skills, not least a background in education," says Kirsty Chadwick, director of e-learning design and development company The Training Room Online. "As an employer I look for talented graduates who combine creativity with technical ability."

The e-learning industry also has positions for e-learning designers and e-learning developers. E-learning designers normally have qualifications in design and are involved in creating the "look" of e-learning courseware, while e-learning developers need to have computer programming skills. There is no specific degree or diploma you should work towards to get a job in e-learning. Beginner salaries in the e-learning industry range from R8,000-R10,000.

"What you study depends where your interests lie," Chadwick says. "While most of our instructional designers have some kind of teaching background, many of our employees who work in production have completed filmmaking or animation courses."

"No matter what career path you choose, job seekers need to learn all they can about the job before they start studying towards it," Madanhire advises. "It's a tough market out there so choosing a career in a growing sector is vital. Job seekers must also make sure they pick up as many skills as possible as soon as possible. It is never too early to start preparing."

Source: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/535/94021.html