2022 Finalisation of the Critical Skills List : Technical Report
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Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Department of Higher Education and Training, Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
In 2020, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), through the Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) research programme, supported the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in the
development and application of a methodology to identify occupations for the Critical Skills List (CSL). The CSL forms the basis for the issuance of critical skills visas (CSVs) to critically skilled foreign nationals. This process culminated in the publication of a technical report that included a description of the methodology and the preliminary CSL. The Minister of Home Affairs gazetted this preliminary CSL on 18 February 2021 for public comment. The number of responses to the request is evidence of the importance of this list. Between the date of publication and the closing date of 31 March 2021, 363 comments were received. Because of the CSL’s importance as a policy tool, ensuring that it responds accurately to the needs it is designed to address is essential. As the technical report for the reliminary CSL stated, balance is essential: "If critical skills work permits are offered too liberally, they risk taking employment opportunities away from South African citizens. Conversely, if these permits are too strictly withheld, skills gaps are perpetuated at the expense of the South African economy. Achieving this balance is largely dependent on accurately defining a critical skill and then using this definition to develop the appropriate criteria for recognising whether a skill is, in fact, critical or not." Therefore, it was important for the DHA and the DHET to ensure that the approach used to identify
occupations on the list was evidence-based and consequently defensible ...
Description
DNA Economics (2020). Finalisation of the Critical Skills List: A Technical Report. Produced for the Department of Higher Education and Training as part of the Labour Market Intelligence research programme.
Keywords
Higher education, South Africa, Critical skills, Occupations, Labour market