(“Lekker” is an Afrikaans word for “nice”)
The concept of “local is lekker” in software has been on my mind for a while.
If you live in South Africa, you want the country to have a strong economy. That’s good for everyone.
Friday 13th horror story
Today is Friday the 13th. If you want horror, look at our unemployment statistics. The latest official unemployment rate is 33.5%. The expanded unemployment rate is 42.6%. And although graduates do better, ICT graduates don’t. ICT ranks up there with tourism for unemployment.
At the same time, companies complain about a shortage of good tech skills. I know how few of our ICT graduates are ready for the work environment. That’s a big topic for another day.
It’s not only SA
In the US, companies also complain that new graduates are not work-ready.
On Quora I found this question:
“If practically every software development job in UK requires 2 or 3 years experience yet then the industry complains about talent shortage – how can thousands of graduates ever find jobs?”
Sound familiar? That’s the complaint of almost every IT graduate in South Africa. I read it day after day on local developer groups on social media.
Short-term thinking
Most companies are not in business to help new graduates get experience. They are in business to make money. And while new graduates may earn low salaries, they cost a lot to get up to speed.
And so companies often choose to outsource dev work. When it comes to offshore outsourcing, I believe two things:
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It is not always cheaper. Outsourcing costs and employee labour costs are different line items in financial statements. And that can put a different spin on the costs. (Yes, I’m cynical. But I’m not naive.)
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It doesn’t always mean better software. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. I am sure there are as many good and bad developers in [your choice of country] as there are anywhere else.
Outsourcing might be cost-effective in the short-term. But it doesn’t build our economy. And in the long-term, a South African company benefits from a strong local economy.
I’m not downplaying the issues – I know these are difficult problems with no simple solutions. But I want to see more companies support “local is lekker” for software development and training. And not just to get some government incentive. But because it is the right thing to do.
I’d love to hear your comments.
P.S. We’re a local company. We don’t outsource our training or our staff. So you can support us and know that local is lekker!