Maryanne Maina

Maryanne Maina

Salaries in Gauteng, and particularly in northern Johannesburg, are higher than the other eight provinces of South Africa.

An executive secretary working in Joburg's northern suburbs would start on a salary of about R15322, while somebody doing the same work in the Free State would start on about R9074.

These were some of the findings of an annual salary survey released yesterday by talent management company Kelly.

The survey said that despite the ongoing financial turbulence, companies were willing to pay higher salaries for good talent.

The total average salary increase for clerks, executive secretaries, office managers and human resource officers across all regions increased 12,5percent over the past year.

Some of the highest increases were in the contact centre industry. Charley Steadman, executive of business analysis at Kelly, said: "This is an industry that is constantly growing and the government has done a lot to encourage foreign companies to have call centres in South Africa to enable more foreign direct investment."

Inbound call centre agents in Gauteng earn up to R4100, in Cape Town R4200 and R3300 in KwaZulu-Natal.

But technical positions such as schedulers, who monitor the calls, can earn up to R32000 in Joburg.

"Schedulers in call centres are some of the highest earners and in Gauteng they earn between R13000 and R32000. It is a very technical job that requires a background in information technology, analytical skills, exposure to call centre environment and business centre environment and the ability to understand the changing trends in the industry."

Themba Nyathi, general manager of human resources at MTN, said the current economic crisis had not hit the telecommunications industry. This is in comparison to the commodities-based industries where there has been a decrease in spending.