Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

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  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen

Here is the list of critical skills needed in South Africa

 

The Department of Home Affairs has published its draft critical skills list for South Africa, outlining the skills which are in short supply in the country.

The list is important for businesses in South Africa who are looking to attract skilled workers. The last critical skills list was published by the Department of Home Affairs in 2014.

Section 19(4) of the Immigration Act stipulates that, subject to any prescribed requirements, a critical skills work visa may be issued to an individual possessing such skills or qualifications determined to be critical for South Africa.

“Attracting the skills we need is vital if we are to increase economic output and get the economy back on track,” said Xpatweb’s Marisa Jacobs.

She added that in today’s sophisticated and highly competitive economies, countries are competing for skills to help them stay abreast of fast-moving technologies and rapidly changing business models.

A growing number of countries are using their immigration policies to attract these skills to their shores.

For example, Britain recently announced favourable visa conditions for much-needed healthcare workers, and Mauritius has introduced a special fast track for investment professionals as it cements its position as Africa’s financial hub.

“Government’s initiative to fine-tune our immigration system to make it easier for companies to attract the skilled people they need is admirable, and clearly the more data it has to work with, the more accurate the list will be.

“We’ve already had record participation in this year’s survey, which indicates how important an issue this is. We are urging companies to take advantage of the new closing date to make sure their voices are included in the process of compiling the final critical-skills list.”

It should be noted that this is still a draft list and that businesses and other interested parties have been given an opportunity to further comment on critical skills that are needed.

A summarised overview of some of the skills in-demand can be found in the table below. The complete list can be found in the embedded gazette.

ActuaryDockmasterICT systems analyst
Advertising specialistDraughtspersonIndustrial engineer
Aeronautical engineerFET college principalInternal auditor
Agricultural farm managerFraud examinerInvestment advisor
Application development managerGeneral accountantManufacturer
ArchitectGeneral medical practitionerMechanical engineer
ChefGeologistMultimedia designer
Chief information officerGeophysicistNetwork analyst
Civil engineerHydrologistQuantity surveyor
Data scientistICT project managerRegistered nurse
Digital artistICT security specialistWeb developer

In the gazetted document, sectors which are expected to recover quickly from the impact of Covid-19, or show signals of increased labour demand due to Covid-19 are highlighted in green.

If the sector within which an occupation is expected to recover in a moderate timeframe or labour demand is expected to be ambiguously affected by Covid-19, they are highlighted in white.

Sectors with slow recovery and lower demand due to Covid-19 are highlighted in red.


Read: 5 fields that companies are struggling to find skills for in South Africa

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