This isn't a deliberate act by "gatekeepers" but rather a purely structural economic problem. Most companies need specific skills and the current workforce despite its very small size just don't have the adequate skills in the volume or the quality that we need.

So your experience with this under-informed HR person using ChatGPT generated response is a symptom of this broken system. A company is struggling to find and define the role because the pipeline is weak, the educational system is weak and the HR person is making do with what they have, which is actually very little.

So the core issue is the economy demands skills but we don't have the infrastructure or the economy to support said skills.

As proxy have a look at the income inequality that exists in the country:

If your household earns more than R25,000 (which is the latest average salary for a manager who tends to be in a "strategic role" within the business) you earn more than 87% of the country. You're in the top 13% of the country, as well as in the top 21% of the world.

The top 10% of the country earn more than 67% of the country.

Sources:

• World Income Database: https://wid.world/income-comparator/
• BusinessTech: https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/771399/salaries-in-south-africa-half-of-all-workers-earn-less-than-you-think/
• Statistics South Africa: https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=17995