# MPH Critical Skills Visa Compliance



## bertusras (May 9, 2016)

Good morning all,

I'm trying to assist my partner in obtaining a Visa for South Africa (she's an American Citizen) and we are struggling to confirm whether she would be able to apply under the Critical Skills Visa requirements.

She holds a Masters in Public Health obtained from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health with Global Health with a concentration in Community Health and Development as her specialisation.

She is currently employed in Swaziland and her contract comes to an end in July. She's been having interviews with various companies and there is one local company that stands out and seems to want to employ her, but the Visa seems to be an issue.

Our first question is, does a person holding a degree as a Master of Public Health comply with the critical skills requirement for the Visa? From what I could gather she would conform to common definitions of "Public Health Manager", but however that is preceded by "Medical Superintendent/", which she won't. Those two posts aren't the same thing in our opinion.

Should this comply with the critical skills list, would our next step be getting her qualification recognised by one of the local councils or boards?

If she doesn't comply, would a conditional employment offer be sufficient to apply for a general work permit?

Thanks for the assistance!


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## bertusras (May 9, 2016)

Follow up question.

The company she wants to apply with is actually headquartered in the States. Reading these topics:

1044602-spouse-visa-working-remotely

1040538-working-remotely-clients-uk-living-sa

got me wondering whether it would be possible for her to be employed in the States, but residing here. A lot of her work would require travel into Africa to implement this product in rural communities.

Just trying to figure out all our options before we abandon this specific employment opportunity.


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## Kickagainstxenophobia (Feb 9, 2016)

Why don't u just look through government gazette of critical skills list and see if your fiancée's qualification is listed among. Secondly, check VFS to see the requirements of a critical skills visa. Obviously, she'd need all her qualifications being evaluated by Saqa before she can apply for a critical skills visa. Goodluck!!


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## bertusras (May 9, 2016)

Thanks for your reply!

That's unfortunately the difficulty that we are facing at the moment. On the gazetted critical skills list there is the following skill listed:

*Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences*
Medical Superintendent/Public Health Manager

Now if you find the definition for Medical Superintendent on DHET's Careerhelp Website you find:

*Description*

Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates medical programs and clinical services in a hospital or other health service facility; maintains standards of medical care and provides leadership to ensure an appropriately skilled medical workforce and _(and then the paragraph is cut off)_

*Tasks*

Controlling administrative operations such as budget planning, report preparation and expenditure on supplies, equipment and services.

Developing, implementing and monitoring procedures, policies and performance standards for medical, nursing, technical and administrative staff.

Directing or conducting recruitment, hiring and training of personnel.

Directing, supervising and evaluating the work activities of medical, nursing, technical, clerical, service, maintenance, and other personnel.

Liaising with other health and welfare service providers, boards and funding bodies to coordinate the provision of services.

Monitoring the use of diagnostic services, inpatient beds, facilities, and staff to ensure effective use of resources and assess the need for additional staff, equipment, and services.

Providing overall direction and management for the service, facility, organization or centre.

Representing the organization in negotiations, and at conventions, seminars, public hearings and forums.

*Occupation Regulation*

As a General Medical Practitoner you have to be registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). It is important that you pay your registration fees annually and that you keep to the HPCSA regulations. 

Registration with the HPCSA is compulsory from the first year of medical studies to qualifying and practising as a General Medical Practitoner.

It also states at the bottom:

*ALTERNATE OCCUPATION NAMES*
Public Health Manager

The issue is that she's not a medical health practitioner and cannot register with the HPCSA as far as we know. However, she does fit the criteria for a Public Health Manager according to various other definitions I can find online, but these aren't South African Government definitions. 

If you look at the University of Cape Town's MPH programme brochure you'll note the following:

*1.1 What is Public Health?*
Public Health is the collection of disciplines that seek to promote health and
prevent morbidity and mortality, using a population or community as the
unit of analysis and intervention, rather than an individual or patient. As part
of this, there is a strong emphasis in public health on understanding the
individual, social and structural determinants of health, in addition to
biomedical understandings.
In Public Health, the field of investigation and action includes:
● the measurement of states of health (including disease, injury and
well‐being) at an individual and population level;
● the prevention of disease and the promotion of health in
individuals and groups;
● and the fostering of equity, efficiency and effectiveness in the
provision of health care services and in health systems more
generally.
In addition, the epidemiological and biostatistical methods of Public Health
can be applied to address clinical questions regarding the aetiology,
presentation, management and course of disease.
Importantly, Public Health does not focus on a single set of health‐related
conditions, but can encompass the range of health conditions and health‐*
related behaviours that influence morbidity and mortality at a population
level.

1.2 Target candidates
The UCT MPH programme was originally developed to help professionals
already on career paths to advance their skills, opportunities and
effectiveness intheir current or future positions. To this end the programme
was designed to support part‐time study. However, a large number of
candidates attend on afull‐time basis. In addition to academic and work
history, the selection processplaces value on experience in public health
related (or clinical) work and on supportby the candidate’s employing
institution.

Target candidates include:
• Individuals working in different aspects of health‐related research
and/or service delivery, including clinical researchers;
• Health sector managers and clinical professionals responsible for
running health programmes or services, for whom a public health
perspectiveis important in their work;
• University graduates in Medicine and in the Allied Health Sciences
wanting to broaden their skills and fill roles beyond professional
boundaries, orto develop research skills;
• Non‐health science graduates, e.g. from the physical and biological
sciences;socialsciences; commerce; engineering; and/or environmental
sciences, who want an entry point into health sector work or to
strengthen their work in their own disciplines.

So yeah, I guess I'm rambling a bit here and trying to figure out which way to go with this.

What I have been told though is that I should make contact with the HWSETA as they would be able to advise whether it would be considered a critical skill or not, so I've done that and am just waiting on a response from them.


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## Kickagainstxenophobia (Feb 9, 2016)

Unfortunately she cannot apply for a critical skills visa. She can however apply for general work permit. DHA is very strict when it comes to applying for a CSV. Her qualifications have to be listed in government gazette list of critcal skills. She needs to show proof of registration with a professional body under her qualification.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Kickagainstxenophobia said:


> Unfortunately she cannot apply for a critical skills visa. She can however apply for general work permit. DHA is very strict when it comes to applying for a CSV. Her qualifications have to be listed in government gazette list of critcal skills. She needs to show proof of registration with a professional body under her qualification.


Yes, start with the professional body - if they accept her, then the list is easier to navigate.


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## Kickagainstxenophobia (Feb 9, 2016)

What else can we do to get a job in this country?? My CSV is counting. It's been 4 months after I obtained my CSV but no job. I have been shortlisted for interviews twice but the position was placed on hold in both interviews. Can someone hook me up with a job please? I don't mind starting from scratch, as in, entry level. Pls assist a brother out there if u can. Thanks


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## bertusras (May 9, 2016)

LegalMan said:


> Yes, start with the professional body - if they accept her, then the list is easier to navigate.


Well that's the problem, it appears that there is no professional body for MPH. I've contacted the Universities offering MPH courses and they've confirmed that there is none. She can't register with the HPCSA as she's not a health practitioner, and we're really battling to figure out where else to turn to.


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## Kickagainstxenophobia (Feb 9, 2016)

Things are out of hand in this country with everything.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Kickagainstxenophobia said:


> What else can we do to get a job in this country?? My CSV is counting. It's been 4 months after I obtained my CSV but no job. I have been shortlisted for interviews twice but the position was placed on hold in both interviews. Can someone hook me up with a job please? I don't mind starting from scratch, as in, entry level. Pls assist a brother out there if u can. Thanks


Try searching on Adzuna which lists all of South Africa's jobs in one place.

Also it would help if you told us what your CSWV is for, as that narrows the field down a lot.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

bertusras said:


> Well that's the problem, it appears that there is no professional body for MPH. I've contacted the Universities offering MPH courses and they've confirmed that there is none. She can't register with the HPCSA as she's not a health practitioner, and we're really battling to figure out where else to turn to.


Call the experts and they will tell you.


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## bertusras (May 9, 2016)

LegalMan said:


> Call the experts and they will tell you.


The experts being you guys? 

We might consider it in the future, but she's had to accept an offer outside of South Africa for the next year.


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## Kickagainstxenophobia (Feb 9, 2016)

I have searched and registered with most of the agencies. From Pnet to career junction,adsuna,eoh,infact, all recruitment agencies you can think of. My CSV is in engineering-and i have Bsc Hons in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering with over 7 years work experience.


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