On 3 October 2023, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) published an updated Critical Skills List with additional categories and some proviso notes and amendments. The release of the new list follows from one of the recommendations from Operation Vulindlela project, where the Department has been recommended to establish a ‘regular cadence’ to update the Critical Skills List so as to accurately reflect the shortages of skills in the country.
What is different on this new list?
The prominent changes on the new Critical Skills List include:
- The inclusion of categories of Veterinarians and Veterinary Nurses.
- University Lecturers are no longer subject to registration with SAQA-recognised professional bodies, however, a letter of support from the Dean / Head of Faculty or School or University Registrar will be required. These applicants must specify their subject classification per the Critical Skills Technical Report (Annexure 2).
- Candidate Engineers may now also apply for Critical Skills Work Visas, provided that they will be working under the supervision of qualified professionals, as required.
The Critical Skills List, previously comprised of 140 occupations, has now been updated to 142 occupations.
