5 Essential IT Skills in Demand in South Africa
South Africa is rated as the most technologically advanced country in Africa. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Information Technology industry in South Africa is growing at a rapid rate. However, there aren’t enough skilled workers with the right IT skills to take on these jobs. To thrive in these positions the youth of South Africa need to develop skills in Coding and Programming, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Data Analysis, and Mobile App Development. In this article, we’ll break down these disciplines further so you can choose the right one to kickstart your career in Information Technology and contribute to closing the digital skills gap.
The demand for IT skills in South Africa:
Known as one of the fastest-growing industries in South Africa, Information Technology has become a skill that is in high demand. Therefore there are many reasons why you should still consider studying IT in 2023. Mainly because there aren’t enough qualified professionals ready to step up to the plate. IT Web states that the country is currently lacking 70 000 ICT professionals with not enough graduates equipped to fill these roles.
To understand this further, there are a variety of factors contributing to this dilemma. The first is that students aren’t studying the right qualifications. In order to fill these gaps, students need to focus on qualifications in technology, science, engineering, or mathematics. Additionally, employers need to be more open-minded to taking on fresh-out-of-college graduates rather than expecting applicants to have years and years of experience. Another common issue is that skilled workers are getting snatched up by global frontrunners. Other countries offer South African workers more attractive salaries as well as a stable political environment. Let’s not forget about the remote or hybrid working benefit either. But we are not here to discuss these factors. Instead we are here to inform you about which essential IT skills in South Africa can make you a highly skilled and attractive future employee.
5 Essential IT Skills in Demand in the Digital Age in South Africa:
In order to fill these skills gaps in the Information Technology industry, the youth of South Africa need to take on IT qualifications or courses with the following disciplines:
1. Coding and programming
Over the last few years, the demand for software development and engineering has skyrocketed. This is because software has become integrated into many facets of our everyday lives. Everyone from toddlers to the elderly use software in some form or other. In order to build these valuable programmes, you need to learn the art of coding and programming. While this technical jargon may sound similar, they have distinctive differences.
Coding in its simplest form is translating human language into a language that a machine can understand. This code tells the computer how to behave and what functions it needs to perform. A few of the common coding languages include Python, Java, PHP, Go and Javascript. Programming on the other hand is creating instructions that tell the computer how to perform a given task. Think of it like a television waiting for a remote control to tell it what to do. Common forms of programming tools include C++, Javascript, C#, Go and Kotlin to name a few. Learning coding and programming opens the door to becoming a computer programmer, full-stack web developer, software developer, computer systems engineer, or a software engineer.
2. Cybersecurity
With the influx of digital devices, users, and programmes all over the world it has become increasingly important for businesses to protect important data and information. A study from the University of Maryland states that hackers attack every 39 seconds. Anyone with an internet-connected device becomes vulnerable to this attack. A security threat like this can cause companies to lose money, data, and customer trust. This is why many South African businesses are turning to an important protection method, cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is known as the act of protecting digital devices and electronic systems from cyber threats. It is also referred to as electronic information security or information technology security. This helps businesses prevent unauthorised user access, protect end users and endpoint devices, protect their data and networks, and improve recovery time after an attack. Common jobs that fall within this sector in South Africa are IT cybersecurity specialist, risk advisor, information security engineer and cybersecurity analyst.
3. Cloud Computing
Every organisation no matter its size or industry uses cloud computing. This is because cloud computing is used for information storage, backups, emailing, disaster recovery, customer-facing web applications, big data analytics and so much more. With such a versatile set of functions workers in this industry are in high demand.
Simply put, cloud computing is the process of storing, managing, and processing data on a network of remote servers hosted on the internet rather than on a local server or personal computer. This helps businesses cut costs, gain quick access to information, work from anywhere, secure data and information, and gain valuable business insights. Examples of jobs in this field include being a Cloud System Engineer, Cloud Administrator, Cloud Developer, Frontend Developer, or Cloud Security Analyst.
4. Data Analysis
With so much data available to businesses it’s important for them to turn this data into actionable insights. This is where Data Analysis comes in. Data Analysis is a process of cleaning, processing, and changing raw data into information that businesses can use to make informed decisions. This analysis uses various data analysis methods and techniques. These include text analysis, diagnostic analysis, statistical analysis, predictive analysis, and prescriptive analysis. Once the processing is complete the data is presented in a manner that is easy to interpret such as a statistic, table or graph.
Gaining this valuable information helps businesses to develop better customer personas, cut costs, reduce risks, solve problems in a more efficient way, gain accurate data to make better decisions and identify various data trends. A few of the exciting career choices in this field include becoming a Data Analyst, Business Analyst, Data Scientist, Digital Marketer, Analytics Manager and so much more.
5. Mobile App Development
About 20 to 25 million South Africans have an active smartphone. With access to so many users in the palm of a hand, businesses are moving towards developing their very own mobile applications. Mobile App Development is the process of developing software for mobile devices, tablets and other digital assistants. True to the nature of the software industry, this process involves programming and coding languages such as Java, HTML5, C# and more. Once completed, the mobile application is either preinstalled on the device or downloaded from a mobile app store.
Examples of common business mobile apps include ABSA’s banking app, Mr. Delivery’s food delivery service, NetFlorist for flower delivery, and Thrifty for car rental. These apps help to build customer relationships, create easier access to products and services, offer 24/7 access to your business, gain valuable insights, and market directly to customers. Common job roles within this industry include becoming a Mobile Software Engineer, Java Application Developer, Front End Developer, or a Software Engineer.
What does the future of tech look like for South Africa?
With the world achieving new technological breakthroughs every day, such as ChatGPT, South Africa isn’t planning on being left behind. South Africa has already made impressive strides in its technological development. It has the largest ICT markets in Africa and has excelled in the mobile software field, security software as well as developing efficient electronic banking services.
According to the International Trade Administration, the government has made a commitment to developing the ICT skills of one million young people by 2030. This will include advanced technological skills such as cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence, coding and networking. This push is to increase the usage of ICT to create an inclusive future, improve the country’s competitiveness and prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Considered a new chapter in human development, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a technological revolution that fuses physical, digital, and biological worlds with new advanced technology. With so much positive growth within the Information Technology industry time will only tell how long it will take for South Africa to join the front runners in this innovative revolution.
Next Steps:
With all these exciting developments, now more than ever is the right time to get involved in Information Technology. Luckily, Edge ICT offers an array of online Information Technology Qualifications that will give you the tools you need to enter this industry. Examples of these include our End User Computing Qualification and a Technical Support Qualification. We are fully accredited with MICTSETA and put our students at the center of everything we do. Reach out to one of our representatives today, your future in tech awaits!