In a few weeks as South Africans stretch their frozen limbs and the first Spring blossoms open, school pupils will write matric prelims. For most, the prospect is daunting – so much hard work, but will they get a job at the end of it?

Globally, the trend since the end of the Second World War in 1948 has been to emphasise university education. But with the global economic downturn economists drive taxicabs in New York and those with management degrees sell IPhones in London stores.

Recent polls in the United States by Forbes magazine and others show that the jobs most in demand now are anything in information technology, especially if you have a sound knowledge of mathematics. Net developers are in particular high demand. Teachers and nurses are in short supply everywhere in the world.

There is also a massive shortage of engineers of all types globally and this will increase as baby boomers retire in significant numbers over the next five years.

The jobs that have seen no job loss through the economic crisis include hairdressers – our surveys show that profits in hairdressing and beauty spas have continued to rise through the economic recession. While consumers have cut back on entertainment, fashion, healthcare, jewelry, cars and liquor, they won’t cancel their visit to a beautician or hairdresser.

Similarly there is a global shortage of machinists, and those involved in installation and maintenance repair. If you are skilled with fixing computers, or are an electrician, carpenter, plumber or the like you’ll never be without work. No one is going to say when faced with a blocked drain or overflowing toilet, “we can live with it”, they get it repaired.

Personal care and service industries remain strong – call centres and customer service agents are always looking for people who are well-spoken, patient and are solutions-oriented. Our company which installs and maintains credit and debit card swipe machines in doctors surgeries, retailers and accommodation establishments has grown three-fold in less than a handful of years and we need good technicians and able customer service agents.

One area that never declines is services for pets whether vets, petfood stores, dog groomers or dog walkers, people will cut back on their own health and entertainment needs but not those of their pet.

And retail is perennial. We all need to go shopping, especially food shopping. The Global Information Network of the United States Department of Agriculture reported in May this year that, “Despite the impact of the global recession, South Africa’s retail sales grew by almost five percent [from 1994] to reach $72 billion in 2009. Of this, food and beverage sales accounted for $7 billion.

Convenience continues to drive growth in South African retail sales, as sales at convenience stores grew by 7.3 percent to reach $1.4 billion in 2009; food court vendors recorded sales growth of 9 percent to reach $1 billion in 2009, and street stalls/kiosks recorded sales growth of 12 percent to reach 0.6 billion.”

If you get into retail in South Africa the only way you will fail is if you run your business badly. And there are plenty of organisations determined to help you succeed. The best way to start is to first work for a retailer, ideally a big retailer to see how they operate.

Armed with that do courses online or at colleges in skills like book-keeping or marketing. Tap into learning programmes, usually free, offered to small businesspeople and entrepreneurs from the Department of Trade, most universities but especially the University of Cape Town, all Chambers of Commerce and companies like ours.

We not only install credit and debit card swipe machines that offer better rates of return than those from the big banks, but we send the client daily reports that show him or her their cashflow situation. It makes it easy for them to manage their books. We offer anti-fraud training and our call centre gives ongoing assistance.

Global economies still have a tough couple of years to claw out of the current financial mess but slow improvements are coming. When thinking of a career, consider the jobs that the world may want in five or 10 years time. We always need retail, nurses, teachers, service professionals and police officers but new careers include those around climate change, summers are getting hotter and winters colder – so homes will need to be better insulated, as an example.

The rapidly aging populations globally will mean more strength to the already powerful pharmaceutical sector and healthcare. And the World Bank is reporting significant new investments going into agriculture, particularly labour intensive organic farming. People are becoming more health conscious and environmentally aware maybe consider becoming a yoga teacher or horticulturalist. Think ahead.

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