Plenty of software developer jobs, few applicants: Pnet flags skills gap - Anja Bates — Anja Bates, head of data at Pnet

A new report from Pnet shows that software development jobs are highly available but there is little competition for them among jobseekers.

The difference between the number of software developers needed in the economy versus the number of qualified individuals applying for roles is so significant that there is relatively little competition for programming jobs.

This is according to online recruitment platform Pnet’s Jobs Market Trends report for December 2025, released on Wednesday.

“Our data shows that ‘software developer’ returned to the top of the list of the most demanding jobs in South Africa in October 2025 for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Demand for these skills has roared back after several years of local and international layoffs in the tech sector,” said Anja Bates, head of data at Pnet.

“The previous surge was all about demand for skills to facilitate digitisation and remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new spike in demand is driven by the need for experts in data, AI, machine learning and robotics. Companies are looking for data scientists, technical architects and business analysts, in addition to developers.”

Ratings

Pnet rated different roles in various sectors, including admin and office support, architecture and engineering, building and construction, business management and IT, according to four criteria:

Jobs availability is based on the number of jobs posted for a particular role on a monthly basis;
Competition for jobs assesses the number of monthly job seekers for the role;
Job experience level averages the years of experience typically required for a role; and
Job education level describes the typical number of years of education needed in a role, ranging from a matric certificate to an honours or master’s university degree.

All four criteria are rated either low, medium or high.

Pnet’s analysis of the IT sector focused on eight roles including business analyst, data analyst and IT project administrator. The full list is detailed in the table below:

Five of the eight roles in the analysis were rated as having a high jobs availability, suggesting that the IT industry as a whole is in need of skilled professionals. The software developer role is the only one that had both a high jobs availability and low competition for jobs. Others, such as business analyst, data analyst and IT project manager, were rated as having a medium level of competition for jobs advertised.

The role of systems/network administrators also has a high jobs availability rating, but competition for jobs is also high.

The roles of database designer, systems analyst and business architect where all measured to have a medium level of jobs availability with competition for jobs also relatively stiff at a medium rating for two of the three roles. Only the business architect role had a low rate of competition for jobs among the three.

Read: South Africa’s maths pipeline is collapsing – and the economy will pay

Eight of the nine roles in the IT sector analysis, with systems/network administrator being the exception with a medium rating, were rated high in the job education level criteria. This means that IT jobs typically need candidates to be trained at bachelors, honours and even master’s level.

This is a cause for concern for South African education experts following the release of the 2025 matric results, which showed that only 34% of the class of 2025 took mathematics – the gateway to technical fields such as those in the IT sector – as a core subject.

Economic risk

“The decline in mathematics participation and performance is not just an education issue but a long-term economic risk. From a university perspective, this translates into too few mathematically prepared learners to meet national demand for engineers, computer scientists, data scientists and other high-skill Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) professionals,” said Thulane Paepae, deputy head of the department of mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Johannesburg.

“If current trends persist, South Africa faces chronic shortages in scarce digital and engineering skills, slower adoption of advanced technologies, greater reliance on imported expertise and deepening inequality in access to high-value careers.”

However, Pnet data paints a more optimistic picture, showing that hiring managers and the industry at large have adapted to ongoing skills shortages by opening their doors to candidates who have developed their skills via alternative pathways including self-teaching, bootcamps and online courses.

“Employers would like to hire developers who have both formal qualifications and hands-on skills and experience. But when those candidates are not available, organisations may prioritise proven skills and practical experience over degrees.