Load-shedding is doing more than just keeping most of South Africa in the dark. It has also put a damper on employment drives.According to Kim Botti, director at recruitment agency Lee Botti & Associates, traditionally the new year brings new opportunities and increased activity.“We saw the start of January offering the potential for that, but sadly, as load-shedding started to grow in severity, there seems to be caution on employment drives.”Botti says while there has been a slight downturn in employment, most companies have been seeking skilled staff in operations in the last quarter. “Now the push, even more than before, is on sales, with less urgency in other roles as they wait to see how things evolve in the country. Other challenges such as the port and rail services have also had an impact on productivity, resulting in companies trying to optimise where they can.”Another developing trend in the logistics sector is the demand for individuals with the ability to find solutions and think outside the box. “There is also a high demand for the experience. Logistics has always been an interesting industry for people to work in, as every day is different and the variety of the industry has been attractive.”She says not many roles are offering training or entry-level into the industry at present. “Companies that are hiring are looking for competent, skilled staff that can jump into a position and get on with the requirements of the job immediately. Skills, expertise, accountability and solution-driven individuals are sought.”Botti says there’s been significant change in the workplace in recent years. “Covid brought about a new world of remote working, however, in the services world of logistics, we have seen more and more businesses finding the need to bring people back to office-based employment, which lends itself to knowledge sharing, team building and a more successfully run machine.”Her outlook for the year is cautiously optimistic. “South Africans are resilient people, and in a time of constant change in our environment as well as in the world, we see businesses adapting and transforming, and new solutions being sought out. The new year brings new energy, and although the topic of Eskom and load-shedding is top of mind, companies continue to focus on finding ways to move forward.
