Are you dreaming about living and working in South Africa? An IT job can give you the opportunity to realize your dream! The biggest advantage of many IT jobs is the possibility to work remotely or from home. Even as a foreigner in South Africa you can find a suitable position in IT if all other requirements are fulfilled.
Foreigners in South Africa have great chances of being hired by outsourcing companies for various IT positions. Some of the common IT jobs with opportunities for foreigners include:
- IT technician
- IT service desk dispatcher
- System administrator
- Software engineer
- Developer
South Africa is one of the most beautiful and prospective countries on the continent, so there’s no wonder it attracts so many foreigners and expats! The job market in the country, however, can be quite tough, especially for non-SA citizens. In this article, you will learn all about how to get a job in IT as a foreign national in South Africa and the positions you can apply for.
How can a foreigner get an IT job in South Africa?
Firstly we need to mention that, the labor market is big in South Africa (over 22 million in the first quarter of 2021) and the unemployment rate is high (32.6% in 2021), hence you will be competing with lots of candidates for the same position.
Thus, most of the expats move to South Africa with existing job offers, so they are secure in that matter.
Luckily the IT industry is known for high demand but also the opportunity to work remotely for many positions within. Foreigners with IT skills and good English shouldn’t experience difficulties when finding a job in South Africa.
Despite the fact that the number of people looking for work is much bigger than the actual number of jobs in South Africa, skilled professionals and IT specialists are often sought after, especially by foreign companies.
Due to South Africa’s shortage of skills (especially in IT), the opportunities for expats to live and work in the country are on the rise. Several professions are identified to have great demand but short supply. Therefore, not all IT jobs get filled by locals, so there is a need in hiring foreigners for these positions. The same applies to the health, travel, or education sectors.
Generally speaking, IT engineers, data analysts, and most IT specialists will find great job opportunities in South Africa. Nevertheless, non-technical support staff is also constantly sought after, so you don’t have to be a high-level IT expert in order to get a job in the country.
Get an IT job in a foreign company
It can be challenging to find a job as a foreigner in South Africa in a local company. Hence, we highly recommend looking for an IT job within an international firm.
Due to the rising trend of outsourcing in South Africa, the country was named “Offshoring Destination of the Year” in 2016 and 2018. Therefore, the number of international companies who are hiring in South Africa is increasing rapidly.
More and more companies are choosing South Africa as an affordable outsourcing destination. The growth is even higher than in the traditional outsourcing destinations such as India or the Philippines. Therefore, non-South African nationals will have higher chances of getting a job in a foreign firm that is looking for the staff there.
What IT jobs are outsourced to South Africa?
Several sectors are looking to outsource to South Africa, and employees for customer and IT support have some of the most demand. For example, Amazon has already announced plans on hiring 3,000 people in South Africa for customer support roles.
Thus, some common areas of outsourcing would be customer and technical support and back-office services for app development. Expats with some IT skills or experience have greater chances of getting a job in a foreign company.
Finding a recruitment agency in South Africa
Sometimes a recruitment or staffing agency is your best option as a foreigner in South Africa. Recruitment agencies can be found in most of South Africa’s bigger cities.
In order to verify if a recruitment agency is trustworthy, read their reviews, testimonials of employees, and companies they work with. Also, have a look at their social media accounts, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. For example, here at Support Adventure, actively share our message and core values on Facebook and YouTube.
Moreover, we have provided testimonials from our candidates and clients, so you can learn about the experience of your peers. As for fees, South African staffing agencies and foreign recruiters should never charge candidates.
Our staffing company particularly hires candidates in South Africa and finds job positions for them with clients in the US, Canada, Australia, or the UK. If you want to be hired with us and work remotely from South Africa or anywhere in the world, apply on our IT jobs page!
Our company, Support Adventure, has experience hiring dozens of IT technicians based in South Africa.
Overall career chances of foreigners in South Africa
Sorry for being pessimistic, but the chances of finding a job as a foreigner in South Africa are quite low if one doesn’t possess in-demand skills or experience. If you have in-demand skills, there are around 35,000 jobs in 53 different industries at the time of publishing this article, so the opportunities are still there, even for foreigners.
Furthermore, the benefit of having the right skills include the ease of visa and work permit application. A candidate doesn’t need a job offer to receive all the needed documents, and the application is done online.
It is usually granted within a couple of months after all necessary documentation has been submitted. Nonetheless, in order to apply for the critical skill visa, you need to have a job offer within a local company or foreign subsidiary.
South Africa has a few different work permit options, which you can see here.
IT jobs for foreigners in South Africa
Which IT jobs are available for foreigners and expats in South Africa? This list can be large, but we want to make an emphasis on outsourcing jobs provided by foreign companies. Particularly these positions can be a good fit for foreigners in South Africa since they offer more flexibility and don’t necessarily have as many requirements.
Many foreign and local companies hire people for IT support jobs, hence, these professionals are always in demand.
IT technician – Entry Level
IT technicians are a good outsourcing support job for technical-minded expats. Technicians are needed in almost all companies that use IT technology.
The main task of the IT technician is to provide technical support for clients. On South African job boards you can also see IT technicians described as:
- IT desktop support
- Technical support representative
- IT service desk agent
- IT help desk technician and more
Fortunately, you can also work from home with this job. IT technician can be an interesting and rewarding career for people interested in network systems, troubleshooting techniques, and operating systems.
Main tasks:
- Provide support, diagnosis, and resolution of desktop problems for end-users
- Installing, troubleshooting, and configuring computer hardware, software, systems, networks, printers, and scanners
- Troubleshoot technical issues and diagnose errors online and over the phone
- Troubleshoot and configure routers, switches, and firewalls
- Planning and undertaking scheduled maintenance upgrades
- Follow issues to resolution and customer satisfaction
- Install, troubleshoot and manage Microsoft products (Windows 7/10, and MS Office application suite)
- Understand the client/server applications architecture
- Administer LAN/WAN security, antivirus, and spam control measures
Job requirements:
- Knowledge of hardware and software
- Certificates and qualifications are beneficial
- Client Service experience is desirable
- Customer service orientation
- Communications skills
- Ability to keep good ticket notes and documentation
Personal skills:
- Problem solving
- Teamwork skills
- Analytical thinking
- Ability to work under pressure
- Ability to handle a stressful environment
Is a job as an IT technician something for you? Our remote staffing company is hiring candidates in South Africa! Apply for one of our available positions here.
Read more about how to become an IT technician in this article
IT Service Desk Dispatcher – Entry Level
Service desk dispatchers are mostly responsible for the coordination and organization of the technicians in the managed service providers or other IT businesses. They work hand in hand with IT technicians. However, many job boards will just call this position IT support or Service Dispatcher.
Main tasks:
- Coordination of the technicians and the entire help desk
- Management of the workload among technical staff
- Assignment and escalation of support tickets, updating the ticket’s status, following up with clients, staff, and vendors as necessary
- Enforcement of the necessary procedures and control of the workflow efficiency in the help desk
- Control of ticket notes
- Keeping contact with the client until ticket resolution
Job requirements:
- Communication skills
- Good customer service skills
- Previous dispatch experience is desirable
- Ability to work in a team
- Ability to deal with conflict resolution
System Administrator – Advanced
The system administrator is the next level of IT support jobs that are available in South Africa. System admins are responsible for IT systems within an organization.
Main tasks:
- Installation, configuration, upgrade, administration, monitoring, and maintenance of operating system software & hardware
- The first point of contact when for technical issues within a company
- Performing data backup and recovery
- Monitoring system performance and troubleshooting issues
- Ensuring security and efficiency of IT infrastructure
Job requirements:
- Often but not always Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or related OR equivalent experience is required
- Often various certificates such as MCITP and CCNA are sometimes required
- Knowledge of Windows server operating system
- Experience in Microsoft server support
- System administration or IT certifications in Linux, Microsoft, or other network-related fields will be a plus
- Experience with databases, networks (LAN, WAN), and patch management
- Knowledge of system security (e.g. intrusion detection systems) and data backup/recovery
A system administration is an advanced IT job for confident professionals in their field.
Software Developer – Advanced
Software Developers are probably demanded in any country, and South Africa isn’t an exception. On LinkedIn, we see over 2,000 open positions within the country. Whether you are a foreigner or SA national you shouldn’t have difficulties in finding a job as a software engineer.
Main tasks:
- Develop information systems by designing, developing, and installing software solutions
- Design and development of back and front-end components
- Investigate problem areas
- Perform software testing and debugging
- Improve operations by conducting systems analysis and recommending changes in policies and procedures
Job Requirements:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics or related OR equivalent experience is required
- 0-2 years of experience in software development for a junior developer role
- Knowledge of one or several coding languages, especially Java and C++ are appreciated
- Understanding of HTML/CSS, Scala, Javascript Experience with SQL and RDBMS database concepts
- Knowledge of algorithms and data structures
- Strong analytical and reasoning skills
- Application architecture and design patterns
The benefit of being a developer is that some companies don’t necessarily require a software engineering degree from the candidate. Hence, you can get a highly paid and reputable job even by being a self-taught coder.
Online platforms for job seekers in South Africa
So where should you look for an IT job in South Africa? The most popular online resources for job seekers include:
Support Adventure
Apply on our IT jobs page if you want to work with us, Support Adventure, an expat outsourcing company. We often hire tech professionals in South Africa to support our clients in North America, Europe, and other continents.
Currently, we have open positions for remote IT support technicians and remote IT dispatchers.
Apply as a Help Desk IT engineer with Support Adventure
Job information:
- 8 hour shifts in different time zones (European, Asian, and American time shifts available)
- The front line support for clients with computer problems with remote control of their computers
The specific activities largely depend on our clients, and during the onboarding process, we will equip you with everything you need to get started. They might include:
- Install, troubleshoot and manage Microsoft products (Windows 7/10, and MS Office application suite)
- Troubleshoot and fix issues with Office 365 and cloud solutions
- Troubleshoot email related issues
- Deploy images through imaging tools
- Understand the client/server applications architecture
- Coordinate and implement network software and hardware upgrades
- Troubleshoot and configure routers, switches, and firewalls
- Troubleshoot and resolve LAN/WAN performance, connectivity, and related network problems
- Administer LAN/WAN security, antivirus, and spam control measures
- Conduct daily network backup operations
- Other duties may be added as defined.
Apply for IT dispatcher position with Support Adventure
Job information:
- 8-hour shifts depending on client time zones
- Receiving incoming calls, emails, and tickets, and allocating them to team members of the organization
- Good communication skills in English are needed for this position
We hope this article gives you the confidence that even foreign nationals can find an IT job in South Africa. Don’t wait and apply for our open positions, so we can assist you on that matter! Make a dream of living in this wonderful country come true!
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