The ninth annual ITWeb Salary Survey shows crime has once again become the top motivator for IT professionals to look outside South African borders for job opportunities.
Since 2003, the survey saw a steady decline of people leaving the country to find jobs outside of SA, but this year there has been a dramatic turnaround. "What should be of concern for local industry is how willing the market is to seriously consider outside [foreign] offers," says Ranka Jovanovic, editorial director of ITWeb.
The survey showed almost 20% of respondents had been offered or had sought foreign job opportunities over the past 12 months.
Jovanovic says almost 27% of the respondents who confirmed they had sought or received international job offers, indicated they intended to or had accepted a foreign job offer.
Org Geldenhuys, director of Pretoria-based IT recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment, says a few years ago the South African IT industry saw something of a "reverse brain drain", with many professionals coming back into the country. "However, during the past few months we have increasingly been engaging with candidates who are asking us to assist them in finding jobs overseas," he adds.
Twenty-nine percent of professionals said the reason they are seeking greener pastures is SA's high crime rate.
Over the past four years, the survey showed the leading driver for immigration was, on the whole, to seek out career growth opportunities and job prospects. Not since 2003 has crime been the top worry for South African IT professionals.
Geldenhuys confirms this, saying most people are worried about the political climate and crime, but others are looking to earn pounds or other foreign currencies.
The ITWeb Salary Survey says the UK is the favourite foreign destination among SA IT professionals, with 26% of respondents eyeing out the opportunities. "This number is significantly down from 37% last year," says Jovanovic.
Europe is increasing its profile among local job-seekers, and Australia is still holding interest, with 14% of respondents favouring the country.
Survey sample
Close to 3 400 IT professionals participated in the ITWeb/CareerWeb 2007 IT Salary Survey, ensuring a good cross-industry sample.
The online survey ran for three weeks in February and March. Specialist remuneration consultancy, 21 Century Business and Pay Solutions, participated in compiling the questionnaire and performed data cleansing and salary data analysis. Further analysis was done by the ITWeb database analysis team.
The sample statistics in this year's survey do not differ greatly from last year, with 82% of respondents being male, 85% permanently employed and 49% under the age of 35.
There is a 2% increase of black employees among the respondents, although the overall percentage is still low, numbering 15%. While white respondents are still in the majority, the number has been steadily decreasing each year and is down to 65% compared to 75% in 2004.
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