You wouldn’t know it from listening to politicians, but South Africa’s workplace is transforming fast, darkening quicker than the vigorous stirring of a perfectly dispensed latté.
SA’s most valuable banking group, FirstRand, disclosed this week that 87% of it graduate programme – the future leadership – are drawn from African, Coloured and Indian racial groups. The bank is no outlier. Affirmative action laws are having their intended impact throughout corporate SA.
It’s an important message for homesick white Saffers. Big Business in SA, especially foreign-owned, is applying employment rules with the enthusiasm born from financial pressure. For prospective job-seekers, those skills acquired on First World playing fields are no longer automatic door-openers.
SA remains a land of great opportunity. But those wanting to participate need to factor in socio-political realities. Their path is clear: returning white families must embrace the higher risk but more satisfying life of entrepreneurship. And reap the unexpected bonus of knowing they’re part of SA’s job-creating solution.
