{"id":744583,"date":"2024-01-23T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=744583"},"modified":"2024-01-22T17:21:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T15:21:20","slug":"major-win-for-south-africas-skills-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/744583\/major-win-for-south-africas-skills-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Major win for South Africa&#8217;s skills crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Department of Home Affairs has approved the first set of companies to be part of the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES), which aims to address some of South Africa&#8217;s most significant labour shortfalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The TES was announced during President Ramaphosa&#8217;s 2023 State of the Nation Address and is set to improve the immigration process for large employers and investors through a more predictable and efficient system that attracts talent and foreign investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Businesses have constantly flagged the lengthy delays and the complex application process for foreign workers in getting visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a major issue for South Africa\u2019s current critical skills vacuum, as international workers are seen as a short- and medium-term solution to the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marisa Jacobs, Managing Director at&nbsp;Xpatweb, said that the TES has strict qualification criteria, ensuring that only the most reputable and reliable companies gain access. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This select list of companies will enjoy a streamlined and expedited immigration process, ultimately benefitting <strong>South Africa&#8217;s economic growth and stability<\/strong>,&#8221; Jacobs said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She added that the scheme promises several key benefits to employers: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Efficiency<\/strong>: The TES  aims to simplify and streamline the immigration process, reducing the bureaucratic hurdles that have hampered employers in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reduced Documentation:<\/strong>&nbsp;With a focus on trust and reliability, the scheme will require less extensive documentation from participating companies, making the process smoother and more efficient.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Accelerated Processing Times:<\/strong>&nbsp;Companies approved under the Trusted Employer Scheme will experience significantly faster and more predictable processing times for immigration-related matters, reducing delays and enhancing operational efficiency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Over the last 24 months, the Department of Home Affairs has faced numerous challenges in managing immigration-related processes. The TES represents a bold step forward in addressing these issues, offering a solution that benefits both employers and the South African government,&#8221; Jacobs added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;As the TES commences, many businesses eagerly anticipate the opportunities it will bring. This initiative promises to strengthen South Africa&#8217;s position as an attractive destination for talent and foreign investment, setting the stage for an exciting new chapter in the nation&#8217;s economic development.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All the applicants for the scheme have been recieving feedback from the Friday, the 19th of January, and this will continue until Friday, 26 January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/744401\/new-laws-bringing-big-changes-for-gas-power-in-south-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New laws bringing big changes for gas power in South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Home Affairs has provided welcome respite to large companies that are struggling to fill skilled positions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":681407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[26,12739],"class_list":["post-744583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-headline","tag-xpatweb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744583"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744613,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744583\/revisions\/744613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}