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February 2005
1.2 million jobs to be lost to outsourcing An estimated 1.2 million European IT services and jobs will move offshore within the next decade - and most of these will be lost by the UK. While Europe loses jobs, countries like South Africa, however, should be on the winning side. This is according to Org Geldenhuys, co-founder and director of executive Search and IR recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment. Citing a report issued by analyst company, Forrester Research, 56 000 British workers were expected to lose their jobs to non-European countries during 2004, rising to a mammoth 760 000 by 2015. This is the equivalent of three percent of all people employed in the UK. "This highlights the attraction of outsourcing, a new business trend that is going to keep gathering steam. Countries who can offer high levels of expertise at good rates, or simply cheaper labour, are going to be on the winning side for some time to come." Geldenhuys said more than 150 000 technology jobs will be "sent offshore" in the next decade, with a further 100 000 IT-related clerical jobs, such as data inputting, being lost to countries like India. "South Africa is currently a fairly small outsourcing player - but is certainly in the top global top 10 as an outsourcing destination of choice. If we play our cards right - and bat smartly - this country should gain thousands of jobs in the next few years. But it won't be a panacea to our overall unemployment predicament." |