Engineering shortage in South Africa

With the current global economic crisis affecting all sectors of industry, many expats who work in engineering and construction are being laid off. Worldwide, large projects are being cancelled and skilled staff are having to search for their next overseas contracts. Whilst this is detrimental to most, the Government of South Africa and the organization, Consulting Engineers of SA (CESA) see it as a method of luring expat engineers to work in South Africa and help ease the shortage of skilled personnel in the country.


According to the International Federation of Consulting Engineers there is no longer a shortage of skilled labour as many engineers have been laid off by their employers and South Africa is seeing this as an opportunity to tempt expats to relocate and work in South Africa. The government also has an initiative called the “Homecoming Revolution” where they aim to bring back South African expats who have been working overseas. The government and CESA see this as an opportunity to draw on the international pool of engineers.


Engineers looking for work in South Africa are going to be kept pretty busy over the next few years as the government has announced a $79 billion investment in the countries infrastructure including water and sanitation work, energy transport and housing. CESA also says that more needs to be done to maintain current infrastructure and are pushing the government to maintain focus on existing facilities. All in all if you have an engineering background and you’d like to work overseas, engineering jobs in South Africa would appear to be on the up.

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Skilled staff still needed in New Zealand

There are mixed messages coming out of New Zealand’s job market at the moment that may well affect expats who plan to move to New Zealand during the current economic crisis. According to a Business NZ survey of 647 businesses a third say they plan to lay staff off, while another third say they are short of skilled staff. Of the businesses running apprenticeships, only 10% had plans to lay apprentices off.


The survey found that 33% of companies had more staff than they need and expats looking for work in New Zealand in manufacturing, wholesale, retail and hospitality, construction and utilities may have difficulty in securing work and therefore a visa to live in New Zealand. Of the 33% with surplus employees, two thirds are planning on making staff redundant and reducing the working hours for remaining staff.


The survey was carried out to enable businesses in New Zealand to push for government and industry training organization assistance with apprenticeships and training programs. Business NZ wants to see redundant workers retrained with the skills currently needed to fill positions amongst the 38.5% of businesses who claimed to have skills shortages. Obviously by using redundant workers to take up slack within the employment market there are going to be fewer jobs in New Zealand for expats.


From its highpoint in 2002 when 38,000 expats moved to live in New Zealand, levels of immigration have been dropping off. In 2007 only 5,500 migrants entered New Zealand and with the retraining of local workers to fill employment vacancies, 2010 may well see the lowest levels yet of expats moving to New Zealand.





Creating Your Ideal Life in New Zealand - a eBook published by escapeartist.com

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Visa Application for Oman - Abaya Not Required

Have you ever wanted a taste of Arabia without fear of terrorism? The Sultanate of Oman, a country bordering the UAE, Saudi and Yemen, makes a perfectly soft landing via the international airport for those wanting to experience the Middle East...safely.

Home of Sinbad the Sailor, delicious dates, ancient Portuguese forts and fine frankincense, Oman is exotic indeed. The Queen of Sheba thought so; she acquired her aromatic resin there.

On the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, much of Oman has ocean breezes to counteract the heat. Mountains, sand and sea are a geologist’s dream. The people are friendly. Men in cotton dishdashas -white, black, blue, brown and lavender, wear colorful embroidered caps, called kummars, often wrapped in a turban style muzza or fine cloth covering. Bedouin women in vibrantly colorful dress are visible, but most Omani women prefer the traditional black abaya and hejab in public. As a tourist, you can wear your regular attire, but women...be modest. The requested standard is that adult females cover their elbows and knees. That’s easy enough to do, still comfortable, and negates stares.

A large Indian population and a surprising number of Chinese inhabit Oman, so count on an international smorgasbord of food. Four and five star hotels serve pork bacon with your chef-prepared breakfast omelet. In Muscat, drive thru Mickey D’s and try the MacArabia, a uniquely delicious Arabian flatbread, with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, a mayo-style sauce and the required French fry tucked inside. Wash it down with your favorite Starbucks, popular in Muscat as well.

Many accommodations include a kitchen; modern grocery stores are abundant, including a Carrefour venture with the company in France – think Sam’s/Costco. Be sure to sample the plethora of spices, olives, dates, feta cheese, and yogurt available.

Drinking water safe, electricity abundant, roads modern, Oman is easily traversed. Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a popular monarch with his subjects, made sure that the arid sand along the highways be beautifully landscaped, manicured and irrigated. He is also responsible for the beautifully designed Grand Mosque, open to the public. Shorts are discouraged on men; women, cover arms, legs and head for guided tours.

Muscat’s Arabian souq is located in the heart of Muttrah with abundant gold and silver, dhows (boats) visible from the sidewalk. Nizwah, a few hours from Muscat, has the feel of a farmers’ market, with demonstrating artisans. Ancient forts and castles are scenically scattered along the drive.

Heat is intense; pack cotton with your camera. The air is dry; ignore anyone saying otherwise. I have lived in Sumatra, Indonesia and South Louisiana; I know humidity. Bring swimwear. The hotels have pools and are accustomed to less modest attire in that setting. Scuba diving/snorkeling and bird watching are there when the climate and terrain overwhelms.

Oman, an unusual combination of sand, mountains, sea and hospitality with modern perks beckons those tired of the usual. An online Visa application is conveniently located at this website: http://www.rop.gov.om/visa/english/onlineservices_visaapplication_main.aspx

Author: Nita Risher McGlawn

For a comprehensive and up to date guide on the Sultanate of Oman purchase the eBook published by EscapeArtist.com Click here to download

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More People Move to Dubai

Dubai’s population is continuing to grow, a government official said recently, despite reports that the economic downturn has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs. The emirate issued 1,000 more visas a day than it cancelled last month, Raed Safadi, the chief economist for the Government of Dubai, said yesterday at a conference. “They’re still positive,” he said, referring to the net entries of people to Dubai. However, the growth in net entries has slowed in recent months.

Based on Mr Safadi’s figures, 31,000 more people received Dubai work visas than those who cancelled their labour or residence permits in January. The emirate issued a net increase of about 40,000 visas in December and in a normal month issues a net of 59,000 work visas, he said.

Dubai’s Ministry of Labour is cancelling an average of 1,500 work permits and visas a day, according to some newspaper reports. Mr Safadi, declining to confirm that number, said the city needed to support growth in consumer demand and job creation to guarantee the economy’s expansion in the future. Late last month, a senior officer at the Abu Dhabi Residency and Naturalisation Department said the emirate received 400 to 1,000 new visa applications every day. He said the number of cancellations remained stable, 50 to 200 a day.

Speculation about the extent of job losses and outward migration across the country prompted an economist at Standard Chartered Bank, Mary Nicola, to suggest last month that “the biggest risk facing the UAE economy is related to its labour market”. The UAE’s redundancies started last year when Morgan Stanley laid off 15 per cent of its Dubai staff and Goldman Sachs let go 10 per cent of its workforce. Layoffs then spread to local firms in the property and financial services sectors. Nakheel dismissed 15 per cent of its staff and Shuaa Capital nine per cent in the fourth quarter last year.

Other property developers and construction companies have laid off staff after scaling back projects and cancelling new developments. Morgan Stanley has said US$263 billion (Dh71.6bn) worth of projects have been cancelled or postponed in the UAE. In recent weeks, Mashreqbank and Damac Properties have cut jobs, while major hotel chains are laying off staff in reaction to sinking occupancy rates.

The Insiders Guide to Thriving in Dubai - an eBook published by escapeartist.com

Real estate in the Middle East

Jobs in the Middle East

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Expat Health Insurance - Africa Tops List for Medical Evacuations

More people are evacuated from Kenya for medical reasons than anywhere else in the world.

This is the experience of Bupa International, which handles over 1,000 calls a month to its worldwide medical assistance helpline.

African countries dominate the global ‘evac map’, with Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Angola making up six of the top ten countries for medical evacuation.

In fact, half of all the evacuations undertaken by Bupa International every year originate in Africa, with South Africa remaining the leading country to be evacuated to.After Kenya, Russia is the second most common country for evacuation, while Indonesia takes the third spot and China is joint fourth with Nigeria and Uganda.

Bupa International’s medical evacuation data shows that heart disease is the main cause of people being airlifted or driven overland to receive medical treatment. Cancer is ranked second, while orthopaedic conditions such as back and neck problems take third place.

Dr Sneh Khemka, Bupa International’s medical director, said: “For many countries in Africa, medical evacuation cover is a ‘must have’. We often do not feel that the local medical facilities are adequate to deal with the patient safely, or the services required are simply not available. If you need an air or road ambulance urgently, medical evacuation cover provides peace of mind, taking away financial worries at what would already be a very difficult time for you and your family. With a full air ambulance evacuation costing in excess of £50,000, being caught out can be very costly.

“It is vital that people living and working overseas remember that not every insurance policy is the same. We know that our customers rely on us to have an in-depth understanding of the health facilities in every country in the world, so we can guide them appropriately when they need us through our 24 hour multilingual helpline. Our emergency medical team of highly-trained doctors, who are experts in high altitude diseases, tropical infections, patient evacuations and home transportation are also available around the clock, ensuring that if the need arises, our customers receive the best treatment without delay.”

For more information on health insurance overseas vist Bupa.com

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