RE: tech writing in South Africa

[<Robert -dot- Campbell -at- arm -dot- com>]

The TW market in SA is not nearly as good as it was in the 80s, but there
are still a few (mainly software and training) companies who employ TWs - I
left SA three years ago, partly because of the job market - on the other
hand, if you plan to use SA-based contract TWs, you'll get them at a good
rate - the Rand has plummeted by around 40% against the US$ in the past
year - and, from what I've heard, there are more people than positions
available right now... - two possible resources - not sure whether they're
still valid:

http://www.stc.org/intecom.html
Institute of Technical Communicators in Southern Africa (ITCSA)
                 TEGKOM
                 P.O. Box 30544
                 0132 Sunnyside
                 South Africa
                 +27-12-831553
                 Contact: Jan Roodbol

http://www.curwen.co.za/news.htm - he's one of the main (or only) tech
writing trainers in SA.




                                                                                                                  
                    "Paul Martin"                                                                                 
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                    Please respond to "Paul                                                                       
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Jennfier O'Neill asked, "Does anyone know what the tech writing market is
like in South Africa and how easy it is to find a writer there?" The market
is small by European and American standards, but is burgeoning since more
South African IT companies are making an impact overseas. However, it's not
yet a commonly recognised profession. For instance, you won't find courses
offered at universities and colleges, there is a national technical writing
association, and employment agencies will probably frown if you ask them
about technical writers. This means that most SA technical writers are
full-timers and the dearth of positions available means that there are few
freelancers.

Jennifer also asked, "What's the best way to find a writer there?" The most
successful method seems to be the word of mouth approach. The other method,
which is less successful because we have a 40% unemployment rate, is to
advertise in the national press, their online counterparts (for example,
www.iol.co.za or www.suntimes.co.za), or online job agencies (such as
www.thejobindex.co.za).







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