Sars 'overwhelmed' by 88,000 applications to fill vacant posts

A call to fill vacancies at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) has highlighted the state of unemployment in SA after a staggering 88,009 applications were received for posts.

Sars said on Thursday it was “overwhelmed with the total number of [88,009] applications received. Of these 15,092 were internal applications.”

Advertised vacancies spanned several areas, including information technology specialists, data management specialists, audit and risk specialists, investigations specialists and auditors with a specific focus on tax evasion and related matters. The closing date for applications was April 11.

“The state of unemployment in our country amply demonstrates the challenges that we face as a country. It is a daunting challenge that all South Africans must act determinedly and diligently to overcome. Sars will play its role, and regrettably absorb only 500 of these applicants as nation builders in our organisation,” the revenue service said in a statement.

The recruitment drive was aimed at improving levels of tax compliance and service to taxpayers.

“Sars believes that government alone cannot create jobs and we hope that others, particularly in the private sector, will do their all to give especially young graduates the opportunity to make a start in life by providing internships and, where possible, employing them as a demonstration of our common commitment to building a prosperous future and setting them off in life.

“On average, there were 468 applications [internal and external] per job category. Of the total number of applications, there were 7,946 applications from external graduates, while there were 755 applications from chartered accountants out of the total number of applications.”

Sars said there were also a substantial pool of applicants at master's and PhD level.

“As can be seen from the numbers, our country has a large pool of expertise in various fields from which prospective employers can draw from to help the country fight poverty, unemployment and inequality.”

Sars said it would engage with shortlisted candidates soon. A few vacancies, where not enough applicants applied, will be re-advertised.

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