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| CURRENT SECTION :: Overseas Guides | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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Written by Eleanor Turton-Hill Jobs and Rates South Africa is by far the most advanced, diverse, and productive economy in Africa. Its gross domestic product is nearly four times that of Egypt, its closest competitor, and the relative political stability of the country is attracting black professionals from all over the African continent. With the demise of apartheid and the ensuing lifting of world trade sanctions, many large corporations have set up offices in South Africa, particularly finance houses, insurance companies, large international software manufacturers and consultancy firms like Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. As a result, South Africa's two major cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town have developed a demand for experienced IT professionals but unfortunately the market for contractors is still small. The entry, or re-entry of multinational organisations into the country has succeeded in sustaining a vibrant IT environment but most of their staffing problems are solved internally. Foreign IT workers in South Africa tend to move through large corporations rather than as independent contractors through specialist agencies. Business analyst Caitlin Fergusson spent 15 months working in Johannesburg 'I was one of about 25 ex-pats all working for the same company. We were transferred over there for a special project and when it was finished we all returned to our regular jobs in the UK' she said. A contracting market does exist however and according to some specialist agencies it has matured significantly over the past year. Johannesburg is the country's main banking and commercial centre, but there are also plenty of large organisations in Cape Town which is home to some of the country's major insurance companies and financial institutions like Merrill Lynch, Fedsure and petroleum multinationals like BP and Shell. Jonathan Jones, Business Development Manager from M3 International has been placing UK contractors into South African jobs for three years. According to him, there is very little demand for 'bread and butter' skills like support staff or network administrators. 'Most contracts are short term and require highly specialist skill sets. We deal mostly with SAP and other ERP placements' he said. As far as rates are concerned expect to be paid considerably lower than in Europe. A quick browse of salaries for permanent IT jobs will give you an idea of the standards of pay (see Suntimes). Contract rates have been low over the past few years with a project manager earning about £25 per hour but according to Jones rates have begun to rise in the ERP sector and are now close to being competitive with the European market. 'We only deal with multinational organisations in South Africa, and we've seen a definite rise in rates over the past year although demand is still slow' he said. Once out there however, your money will go much further than it would in Europe as Fergusson commented 'You'd be amazed at the quality of life you can get for the money. Accommodation is particularly impressive. A group of us moved into a four bedroom detached thatched roundhouse on the outskirts of Johannesburg with electric gate, drive, pool and a live in house keeper (and a gardener who came once a week) within a couple of acres for about £800 a month.' The Cities From a visitors point of view, Cape Town is the city of choice. It is much more relaxed than Johannesburg and because of its stunning surroundings has turned into a popular tourist destination. In business, Cape Town is much more casual than Johannesburg with a more relaxed attitude to dress codes and a respect for free time. Business visitors from Johannesburg are often frustrated by the lack of activity in Cape Town before 9.00 and surprised at the amount of business conducted over long drawn-out lunches. Johannesburg, by contrast, is a frenetic city still suffering from post-apartheid confusion and the crime figures are high. Like any big city however there are areas to avoid if you want to steer clear of trouble, as Fergusson pointed out 'I spent 15 months living in Johannesburg and travelling around within Southern Africa and had no bad experiences at all' she said. Since apartheid ended all people have the right to freedom of movement. This is one of the significant changes to Johannesburg. Due to the influx of immigrants into the city centre, most white South Africans have moved out into the northern suburbs. As a result many of the institutions have followed and moved to Sandton and Randburg. This is perhaps best illustrated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which is currently relocating to Sandton. Many of the large financial institutions (banks and insurance companies) still own major parts of the city centre and are therefore delaying their movement out of the centre. On the positive side, the cultural life in Johannesburg has been enriched by a succession of disparate people during its fast development. There are at least a dozen different languages in widespread daily use. The majority of the white population is of English and Afrikaans descent, and there are also large communities of Portuguese, Greek, Italian, Russian, Polish, Lebanese, and of course an African population which includes representatives from every ethnic and linguistic group in southern Africa. The diversity of cultural experience is like no other city in the world with theatre, music, art and a fantastically rich cuisine bursting from every street corner. Food and Drink The excellent quality of South African cuisine is generally something of a revelation to UK visitors mainly because of the abundance of fresh ingredients produced by the country's thriving agricultural sector. Eating out is considerably cheaper than in the UK, and portions tend to be much larger, particularly meals involving steaks or seafood. South Africa's long coastline produces a huge amount of exotic fish including oysters, Kingclip, Red Romar and crayfish. There are a number of speciality dishes which typify the country's unique cuisine including poetoepap a kind of polenta made from maize which is often served with meat dishes and bobotie a curried mince dish. Most South Africans spend a great deal of time outdoors and Johannesburg's northern suburbs are full of open park land for bird-watching and picnicking. Weekend cookouts or braaivleis, as they call them locally are a summertime ritual, especially among Afrikaners. On the alcohol front, there is an abundance of excellent local red and white wine, as well as sherries, brandies and liqueurs. South Africa Links Previous Page
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