Skills shortage threatens city's growth

Durban struggles to attract top talent

- THAMI MAGUBANE

DURBAN is battling to attract and retain people with critical skills that are needed to propel its economy to great heights.

This is the sentiment expressed by business leaders and academics after it was revealed at a recent Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry event that hundreds of mid-size businesses in the city have closed down.

Gary Nagoor, CFO of the Royal Tyres Group, said as his company tries to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations, it has struggled to find people with the required skills.

Ebrahim Asmal, head of the Department of Information Technology at the Durban University of Technology, noted that Durban faces challenges in attracting top talent, particularly in scarce skills within the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) space, such as AI, machine learning and robotics.

"The city has a growing start-up ecosystem, with innovation hubs attracting entrepreneurs and innovators. The Durban tech sector is growing, but its size is relatively smaller compared to Cape Town and Johannesburg. Most large corporate companies have their head offices in Johannesburg.