10 South African High Paying Jobs That Are In Need Of Employees
Data from the job portal CareerJunction highlights a list of jobs that did not exist a decade ago but now garner significant employment.
The company’s latest employment insights report is based on data acquired from Saongroup South Africa, where millions of registered job searchers can view job postings from around 5,000 of the nation’s leading recruiters.
The report details supply and demand trends in the South African job market.
“While some roles will gradually fall away in the future, new careers are emerging rapidly to satisfy the demand technology has created,” said CareerJunction.
The research was recently concluded on ‘future jobs’. In other words, jobs that didn’t exist, or at least weren’t common a mere 10 years ago.
The following top 10 job roles were identified as ‘future jobs’ – positions that did not exist, or at least weren’t common a mere 10 years ago – that now demand favourable employment prospects and sustainable employability.
Note: The percentage increase in hiring activity is based on the comparison between hiring activity between Jan-Jun 2022 and Jan-Jun 2018
Cloud Engineering: +1,071%
In the tech industry, cloud engineers focus on cloud computing, including the design, development and administration of cloud infrastructures, said CareerJunction.
The recruitment specialist said that it posted its first vacancy for a ‘cloud engineer’ in June 2015, and demand for this position has grown ever since.
“Since the first half of 2018, labour demand for cloud engineering skills increased by more than 11 times (1,071%).”
Data Science: +32%
According to CareerJunction, data scientists apply and develop models, techniques and analytics to derive meaningful information from large data sets.
They use machine learning, artificial intelligence as well as advanced programming as typical techniques within the sector.
Many companies have understood the potential of data science. As a result, hiring activity for data science has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to remain high, it said.
DevOps Engineering: +104%
DevOps engineers are in charge of bridging the gap between software development and operations to accelerate productivity within a company.
According to CareerJunction, a DevOps engineer has solid knowledge of the software development life cycle as well as expertise in process automation and application management.
Recruitment activity for DevOps Engineers has doubled (+104%) since 2018, said the jobs portal. “In addition to good employment prospects, DevOps engineers can enjoy high-end IT salaries.”
E-commerce Manager: +86%
E-commerce managers oversee, administer and drive their companies’ online shops including E-commerce strategies and frameworks, said CareerJunction.
“With the increasing trend of online shopping and online stores, demand for E-commerce managers has been steadily increasing over the last four years.”
Labour demand for E-commerce managers is expected to grow further in the near future, it said.
Customer Success: +322%
Customer success is an approach taken by a growing number of companies to achieve client satisfaction and client retention, noted CareerJunction.
Since the first half of 2018, recruitment activity for customer success staff has increased by 322%, it said. Growth in demand is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Data Engineering: +516%
Data engineers specialise in designing and developing systems to collect, store, and transform data and large datasets.
“The objective of building data solutions is to improve data access and data usage for analytical or operational uses,” said the jobs portal
It said that it first posted a ‘data engineer’ vacancy in March 2016 and has recorded strong growth ever since.
Digital Marketing: +31%
According to CareerJunction, digital marketing entails using the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services.
“In recent years, demand for marketing professionals within the digital space has grown.”
Recruitment activity for digital marketing professionals is expected to remain strong in the local job market, it said.
Salesforce Developers: +182%
This type of computer programmer writes software on the salesforce CRM platform or for other Salesforce cloud technology, said CareerJunction.
“This ranges from creating websites to developing apps. A salesforce developer works with computer code like JavaScript and HTML on a daily basis.”
Along with the increase of salesforce integrations across corporate businesses, hiring activity for salesforce developers has increased by over 180% in the last four years. It is predicted that demand for salesforce developers will continue to grow locally and globally.
Wellness Consultants: +1,350%
Wellness consultants advise clients on fitness, diet, stress management and overall health, said CareerJunction.
Hiring activity for wellness consultants has grown over the last years, with hiring activity up 22% year-on-year.
Renewable Energy Specialists: +550%
With President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent statement about expanding the use of renewable energy sources in a bid to tackle South Africa’s energy crisis, the demand for professionals within the renewable energy sector is expected to increase further, said CareerJunction.
“Renewable energy specialists assess studies on emerging technologies, understand environmental impacts of energy production, transfer their understanding to practical business strategies, and communicate through a variety of means, including public presentations.”
Recruitment activity for this job role has increased significantly since the beginning of 2021.
