Abstract

STRAUSS, AC  and  DU TOIT, ASA. Skills shortages and competitiveness in South Africa: the need for competitive intelligence skills. JCMAN [online]. 2010, vol.7, n.1, pp.308-325. ISSN 1815-7440.

South Africa as a country continues to rank low in the world of competitiveness. According to the 2008-2009 Global Competitiveness Index, South Africa was placed 45^th place out of 134 countries. In the category of skilled workers, South Africa holds bottom position in terms of the retention of skilled workers. Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a means to improve competitiveness. The aim of the research was to identify the skills CI professionals need in order for CI to be used successfully as a management tool to enhance competitiveness in the country. Questionnaires were sent out to a sample of CI professionals in order to identify the skills needed by them and required the respondents to evaluate themselves regarding the certain given skills. The results revealed that the three most important CI skills needed in South Africa are networking skills, analytical abilities and research skills. However, these important skills were not reflected in the self-evaluation of the respondents. Networking skills featured 5^th, research skills 8^th and analytical abilities 7^th, respectively. The results of this study have important implications for management and/or businesses, specifically with regard to the future conduct of CI practices.

Keywords : Competitive intelligence; skills shortages; competitiveness; South Africa.

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