If you are CA and have been actively seeking employment in the recent job market you may have been feeling somewhat frustrated with the shortage of opportunities available to you. Have you found this? I would love to hear about your latest experiences in the job market especially over this past year or so.

For us, as recruiters, we have definitely experienced a shortage of opportunities for new CA’s and ones with 1 to 2 years post qualifying experience. This shortage has been emphasized by the definite increase of CA’s in the market place. We have found the market to be saturated with recently qualified CA’s – largely due to a limited number of international opportunities coupled with many of the audit firms decision not to retain as many CA’s as previous years. This has left us with an over-supply of recently qualified CA and a limited number of positions, which I am sure you agree has caused much frustration for all. This has also caused a bigger demand for the positions that do become available and a levelling out of salary. For example – the starting salary for a new CA in Cape Town is around R360K however some candidates have been accepting R300K – R340K to get the position – and get their foot in the door.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for all you gloriously talented CA’s. These past few months we have definitely noticed a slight increase in the demand for newly qualified CA and ones with up to 2 years post qualifying experience. The opportunities have come in the form of financial accountants, investment analysts and multi-manager analysts. And there is very good news for CA with approximately 5 to 8 years post qualifying experience as the number of opportunities available to you are also on the up. Things are looking positive for CA so watch this space.

About the author

Jaclyn Allardice

I’m a living enthusiast, a knowledge admirer, a sports lover and a chocolate miser. Recruitment is my career, people are my motivation and writing is my passion. You can find me searching for financial markets talent, drinking coffee at Vida or enjoying the wonders of Cape Town. Connect with me on LinkedIn.