Until the middle of 2008 there was nothing untoward in the forecasts for the world economy except that crude oil prices seemed to be on an upward spiral at USD 140 (now USD 40), commodity prices were high and there were murmurs of possible problems in the US housing market. Employment opportunities seemed to be abundant with demand in many sectors outstripping supply by far. South Africa had a number of programs in place to attract skilled foreigners to work here as our growth rates, emigration and a poor education and training system combined to create a situation in which the skills required for growth were not available. This stretched across all economic sectors.

After the credit crisis last year, governments around the world had to intervene and guarantee USD 2 trillion (this may rise to USD3 trillion), but in the process many shaky companies and industries have been exposed or left with inventory which cannot be sold, and declining businesses (eg the motor industry).This has led to massive restructuring and retrenchments.

In general terms skilled workers are the most mobile in the workforce and will probably find work in their own countries or in other countries, provided there are opportunities available in these countries. A current example is that while the UK and US are experiencing retrenchments in
construction sectors, Canada, Australia, China and South Africa are experiencing shortages so there is a very real opportunity for people with the right skills to obtain work contracts in these countries.

For South Africa, there is a unique opportunity to recruit skills which we know have not been trained locally and are required for the next few years in our country in order to build a number of industries such as IT, construction, engineering, education and other with the skills critical to these sectors. While South Africa may not have been the first choice for foreigners to come and work because of the poor exchange rate and other negative perceptions of the country, the country should be sold on the basis of lifestyle, relatively cheap cost of living compared to other countries and our first world standing in many industries.

It will take a concerted and sustained effort by Government and the private sector to ensure that we take this unique window opportunity to promote and develop our country.