Employment in South Africa

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Well, Monday I had a very nice 2-hour interview with Biwater, and on Tuesday I received an offer for the position of project engineer at that firm. The location is Johannesburg. Nothing has come of the interviews in Pietermaritzburg yet, and I have had some follow-up from two other firms that produced dead ends. Here is the story we hear everywhere: there is a desperate shortage of engineers in this country, and yet the government has a complicated, lengthy and unpredictable process for getting work permits. The legally mandated affirmative action preference is first for a black woman, then black man, then white woman, then people of color, and lastly white males. Some of the ads for municipalities state that “represented” groups (bottom of the preference list) will only be considered for positions when no one from an “unrepresented group” (black) applies. A concurrent set of preferences is for South African citizens, then citizens of southern Africa, then African citizens, then citizens of other countries. Of course we had heard most of this before we came, so now we are just working with the system to the best of our abilities. The municipalities have it worst; understaffed with underpaid, under-qualified people in general, and sometimes with an attitude of shutting people out who could help them. I couldn’t get past the receptionist at the City Engineer’s office in Grahamstown, and this is not uncommon. Part of the application for the work permit includes certifications from the prospective employer that they advertised and couldn’t find any qualified people in the unrepresented groups, nor could they advance someone from within the company, and that the person being considered has special capabilities that no one else who applied could provide. The certifications must be accompanied by proof, such as copies of the ads, resumes of other applicants, etc. Tomorrow I go to the Home Affairs office to start the process of applying for a work permit.

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