The latest Quarterly Labour Force Service Survey reports that there was a slight improvement in South Africa’s labour market last year, with Statistics SA releasing that “between the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2011, the South African unemployment rate declined by 0,7 percentage point to 25,0%”. Yet, the Supply Chain, Distribution and Procurement recruitment market has boasted good, solid growth over the past two years. Natasha Pillay-Bemath, MD of Tech-Pro Personnel, tells SmartProcurement that “this illustrates that the urgent and real need for skilled Professionals in South Africa and globally persists. Competition for the right talent is still on.”
“In the Supply Chain Industry particularly, the push from clients for precisely the right candidate has increased, with the need to find affirmative action (AA) candidates still a challenge,” says Pillay-Bemath. However, it must be noted that “we have seen ease in attracting and securing more AA talent. As our democracy ages, AA talent is more and more available and on the rise. It takes skilled professionals and many years of experience to apply creative and unique methods to search for, network with and secure this talent.”
“The truth is that the Supply Chain industry has also evolved” she notes. “Clients demand skilled candidates who have experience and often this experience needs to be coupled with a formal education. No longer is it enough to have a CV that looks good, a lot more is required.”
Pillay-Bemath advises that “in 2012 companies will be placing even more emphasis on recruiting the appropriate skill and the push for formal education will be even more prevalent. It is a matter of supply and demand. The circumstance of an increased demand for Supply Chain and Procurement Professionals persists, with supply of these Professionals still proving to be a challenge. However, companies remain steadfast in appointing only the top candidates. And rightly so, the old adage that you are only as good as your people, is most certainly still true. Especially in key areas that have high measurable impact on an organisation’s performance, like Supply Chain and Procurement.”
Tech-Pro Personnel has been committed to providing the Supply Chain and Procurement Industry with talent since 1997. It holds strong relationships with most key players in corporate South Africa. It contributes to the country’s goals of being more competitive globally through securing one of the country’s most in-demand talent for South Africa’s corporates.
