Jobs in Mpumalanga

Agriculture, industry, and manufacturing are the three most important economic sectors in the province. However, tourism also has a place in the mix, according to the Mpumalanga Provincial Government website, because locals and international visitors alike are drawn to its “magnificent scenery, fauna and flora, and the fascinating remnants of the 1870’s gold-rush era”.

Mpumalanga has a summer rainfall area, where its highveld experiences cold frosty winters, and its lowveld enjoys a subtropical climate with relatively mild winters. The province’s escarpment area, or sloping plateau that joins land of different heights together, sometimes experiences quite heavy snowfall (click here for details); while thick mist is common during the lowveld’s hot, humid summers.

In combination, these climatic conditions result in an abundance of citrus and subtropical fruit varieties – from mangoes, avocados, litchis, bananas, papayas, granadillas, and guavas – to nuts and plentiful vegetable varieties, too.

The province’s capital Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit) is, in fact, the country’s second-largest citrus-producing area; and exports as much as one third of South Africa’s oranges. The
Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, which “provides sustainable and appropriate technologies for production and post-harvest handling of citrus and subtropical crops” – with a view to enhancing food security and nutrition, global competitiveness and wealth creation – is located here.

Other areas such as Groblersdal and the Carolina/Bethal/Ermelo vicinity: 1) yield citrus fruit, cotton, tobacco, wheat, and vegetables; and 2) encourage a focus on sheep-farming, potatoes, sunflowers, maize, and peanuts, respectively.

A search under “agriculture” and “Nelspruit” on the Executive Placements jobs portal, reveals opportunities such as a business development manager, an electrician, a packhouse manager, and a technical advisor in agrochemicals. For interest, also do a search under farming jobs, where potential roles include the likes of a cattle supervisor in Bethal.

Most of the province’s manufacturing production takes place on the highveld ridge, where petrochemical industries such as Sasol II and II can be found. Other large-scale manufacturing, such as of chrome allow and steel, occurs in the northern highveld.

The lowveld subregion, on the other hand, focuses on agricultural and raw forestry production (including paper milling), all of which can be exported via the Maputo Corridor as it links Gauteng and Maputo in Mozambique and is believed to be heralding a new era in economic development and growth for the region.

Although Mpumalanga boasts a rich reserve of coal, South Africa is looking to diversity its power generation mix by investing, instead, in renewable energy sources, advises the Energy Information Administration.

If you’re looking for an engineering job, or something equally technical, see opportunities that include the likes of an engineering services manager in Nelspruit, an energy engineering manager in Middelburg (where you could earn up to R1.145 million annually), or a maintenance manager (electrical), in Standerton.

You certainly can! While the volume of travel and tourism-type jobs are advertised for establishments in Cape Town and Johannesburg, it is possible to snap up exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunities if you act fast. Simply type tourism jobs into your jobs portal of choice, and see the likes of a reservationist for the Kruger Park come up, as just one example. Alternatively, apply directly to the hotel, guest house, B&B or other tourism facility that you’ve set your sights on working for.

A manager in the province earns a salary of R32 500 per month, excluding any perks, bonuses, or profit-sharing advantages. Popular companies hiring managers include the likes of Columbus Stainless, Capitec Bank, Sasol, affordable fashion group Ackermans, Samancor Chrome, Bushveld Minerals, and Zizwe Opencast Mining.

An article on Property Professional, advises that Mbombela has been showing a significant increase in property market activity in recent times. Not only the gateway to the Kruger and a well-frequented tourist destination in its own right, the city’s significant appeal also lies in its “temperate climate, economic opportunities, and amenities that include world-class malls and entertainment areas”, says BetterBond’s CEO, Carl Coetzee.

Most importantly, advises the same article, it is “carving a niche for itself” because its residential property – whether bought to live in or rent out, is accessible from a cost perspective.

Of interest is the fact that 42 percent of buyers in the province’s main city over 2023, were aged just 36 to 49, making this region a drawcard for young families and professionals rising up the ranks of their professional industries.

In fact, Property24 has revealed that “despite its many attractions, house prices in the city are accessible at an average of just over R1.090 million, and R745 000 for sectional title properties”, which explains why 26 percent of new buyers were younger than 35. 

From a semigration perspective, Mbombela simply ranks up there because of its “natural beauty, quality of life and economic opportunities”, together with the fact that it is a shortish drive to Johannesburg – all of which appears in a 2022 Lightstone report. Read more about the report, here.

SA-Venues shares a variety of incredible physical activities that residents, and visitors to Mpumalanga, can get up to. These include:

• a rustic horseback ride in Kaapsehoop, or Waterval Boven;
• an aerial cable trail in Hazyview;
• the prime flyfishing on offer in Glenshee;
• a mountain biking extravaganza in Sabie, Nelspruit, Pilgrims Rest, or Barbeton;
• the best in swimming vibes at Ribbokkloof Lodge, Middelburg;
• indoor skating for the young, and young at heart, at White River.

From a sports and fitness perspective, Mpumalanga certainly ranks up there – with the likes of cross country, road running, track and field, adventure activities (such as rock climbing, caving, trail running, fly-fishing, abseiling, and aerial cable trails), and a variety of tours (safaris, hiking, camping, and off-road experiences) being part of the plethora of what’s on offer to the fit and daring who live and holiday there.

Don’t stress, because TripAdvisor lists at least a range of high-end malls in which you can set about doing your grocery, and other shopping. The list offers up:

• i’langa Mall, a premium lifestyle destination in West Acres, Mbombela, with its selection of national retailers and independents stores, plus a food court and a kids' play area;
• Riverside Mall, set in the picturesque Riverside Park City Improvement District on Government Boulevard, is a leading entertainment and shopping destination in Mbombela with over 130 exciting stores, together with competitions, events, and activities for the whole family;
  • Highveld Mall, with the tagline “The Mall With More” as it is probably the biggest in Mpumalanga, which is located right off the N4 in eMalahleni, and invites you in to “bank, dine, browse, travel, upgrade, bedazzle, make up, frame, pamper, educate...or indulge your every fashion fantasy”;

and
• Secunda Mall, set on PDP Kruger Street, with its impressive set of anchor tenants – such as Dis-Chem, Food Lovers Market, Ster-Kinekor, Clicks, Edgars, Game, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Checkers Hyper and Checkers Liquor. You won’t go wrong if this is your chosen gift-buying venue, or regular grocery-shopping zone.

• The province’s Sudwala Caves are among the oldest in the world, at approximately 240 million years, and were probably formed even before dinosaurs roamed the planet;
• Kaapschehoop’s Adam’s Calendar, an enigmatic stone structure, is believed to be over 750 000 years old and is often compared to Stonehenge in Salisbury, the United Kingdom. According to the SA People website, the site’s stones have been set down “to mark solar events such as the equinoxes and solstices”, which shows the deep connection that the planet’s ancient inhabitants had with movement of bodies in the sky;
• Blyde River Canyon’s Three Rondavels (African homesteads), is a unique geological formation worth seeing as it represents the crazed wives of a chief called Mogoladikwe, who according to folklore were carved into the mountain as a punishment for their ongoing defiance;
• the UNESCO World Heritage site of Barbeton Makhonjwa Mountains, which supposedly contains some of the Earth’s most ancient rocks (they date back 3.6 billion years), provides insights into the planet’s formative processes as a result of the fossilised microorganisms that have been found embedded in the rocks here. Further, the lush scenery attracts plenty of hikers and nature enthusiasts.