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SCIENCE, TECH, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS GRADUATES EMPLOYED IN 6 MONTHS

11 April 2022
Ntokozo Nkambule
  • The ESEPARC Eswatini National Skills Audit Report reveals that the Education sector in Eswatini is saturated
  • Youth Unemployment stands at 58%
  • There is an observable oversupply of basic finance and services accounting skills, as more than 50% of graduates are unemployed.
  • The manufacturing sector is the largest contributor to the country’s GDP (30%) and is also the largest employer (33%), followed by wholesale (12.9%) and retail, finance and insurance (12.4%), and agriculture forestry and fisheries (8.41%).

Photo Credit: www.separc.co.sz

By Ntokozo Nkambule

The Eswatini National Skills Audit Report compiled by the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC) for the Ministry of Labour & Social Security has revealed quite interesting insights about the local labor market and the quality of skills by the populace.

The objective of the study is to provide a situational analysis of the country’s industrial development, economic direction, and skills development system. The report also aims to identify and document the present skill sets and deficits in Eswatini; determine the drivers of the skills gaps in the labor market, and assess the capacity and quality of skills development in Eswatini’s tertiary institutions.

The Key Findings of the report indicate that overall, the manufacturing sector is the largest contributor to the country’s GDP (30%) and is also the largest employer (33%), followed by wholesale (12.9%) and retail, finance, and insurance (12.4%), and agriculture forestry and fisheries (8.41%). They also reveal the following

  • The Youth make the largest proportion/age category of employed people in a majority of industries even though they are slightly below 50% of the total employed group.
  • Eswatini’s industrial sector is male-dominated. Only the wholesale and retail sector, and finance and the insurance industry have slightly more female employees than males.
  • Eswatini employs a small percentage of people living with disabilities. The most significant employer of this cohort is the public administration and compulsory social security (20%), followed by the NGO sector (17%) and human health and social work (11%).
  • MSMEs constitute the largest proportion of private-sector employment.
  • Hhohho and Manzini remain the most economically active regions in the country.

FINDINGS BY SECTOR

WHOLESALE & RETAIL

  •  In the wholesale and retail sector, it takes between 1 and 6 months to get a job; but most employment (54%) is contract-based. However, technological advancements and the growing online presence of wholesale and retailing will require an increase in business management skills, marketing, accounting, procurement, supply chain, and IT skills in the next 3-5 years.

FINANCE & ACCOUNTING

  • There is an observable oversupply of basic finance and services accounting skills as more than 50% of graduates are unemployed. Undergraduates lack rigor or relevance to industry practice, resulting in skill deficiencies in the sector. Most employers require the use of financial software and higher levels of qualifications and the future will require more specialized skills with employers projecting that 61% of the jobs will be automated in the finance and insurance sector.

STEM/SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS

Graduates in the STEM/professional services field have higher chances of being absorbed by the industry. They need to have the right qualifications and are usually employed within 6 months.

For more information visit www.separc.co.sz and download the full report

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