A recent report by VMA GROUP Africa found that the South African communications landscape is an increasingly in-sourced function, where the skills of the in house communicator are becoming crucial for service delivery...

Over half (52%) of respondents stated that they do not outsource any work to agencies, with the balance outsourcing between 25% and 100% of the communication function.

VMA GROUP Africa, collected data from senior communication practitioners around salary, spend, recruitment patterns, growth plans and skills development.

Says Daniel Munslow, Principal Consultant for VMA GROUP Africa, "The communication landscape is constantly evolving, and to ensure we are able to offer the right training and recruitment solutions, one must engage with the marketplace and hear the voice of the community. This survey shows that communication practitioners are shifting to a more advisory function in business, where measurement, strategy development, and business optimisation are securing a seat for the communication function at the board."

African expansion
Over 40% of respondents said that their companies were looking to expand the communications function into other key African locations including Windhoek, Gaborone, Lagos, Accra and Nairobi. Despite a tough economic climate and low GDP growth, just over 60% of organisations are looking at expanding their comms teams within the next two years.

This is underlined by VMA GROUP's European offices' research where 40% of global organisations said that they already operated in Africa and a further 6% indicating that geographical expansion would be most likely into Africa.

Skill shortages
A quarter of respondents felt that skills shortages were a key concern and almost half (49%) felt that creative and strategic thinking development in order to identify business priorities and build the strategic framework was a key priority. Other skills development areas included employee engagement, change management, the use of technology and influencing skills.

Recruitment & careers
Interestingly 1 out of 5 respondents (20%) said that their top method for finding a new role remains through the use of recruitment consultancies. Over half (55%) of jobseekers took under three months to complete their job search - a reflection of the local economy where vacancies requiring specific skills are quick to fill.

In terms of motivations to move job, 45% moved due to enhanced career deve