South Africa experiencing brain drain 2.0? Young professionals are leaving in droves

Stephen Grootes interviews Andrew Woodburn, Managing Director at Amrop WoodburnMann.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below. 

Young professionals in the health and agriculture sectors are leaving the country in droves, seeking greater opportunities abroad.

Canada appears to be the destination of choice for many, according to data compiled by authorities from the North American country.

According to the data, more than 7,000 South Africans have packed up and moved to Canada.

The medical industry makes up a significant departing group, of which over 600 have left South Africa. Over 350 of those are specialists, such as neurosurgeons and cardiologists.

Other top professionals to wave South Africa goodbye are farmers, mechanics, athletes, and technical artisans.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Andrew Woodburn, Managing Director at Amrop WoodburnMann, says the country's experiencing an alarming exodus of top talent.

"These are all individuals who create a circular economy in our environment, and without their skills we lose their income, we lose their expenditure, we lose their experience, we lose their training."

- Andrew Woodburn, Managing Director at Amrop WoodburnMann

"We're talking about Canada, but in some cases I also know about New Zealand to be a sort of vulture sitting on the wires, preying on our poor people and talent policies that are triggering people interested in leaving."

- Andrew Woodburn, Managing Director at Amrop WoodburnMann

"They're now attracting this talent, because they see it's easy value for money. So not good for our economy, not good for our skills pool."

- Andrew Woodburn, Managing Director at Amrop WoodburnMann

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.