The jobs that are the most in-demand for expats in Cape Verde

What are the types of jobs that are easily accessible to expats in Cape Verde?
Most expats coming to Cape Verde do not speak Portuguese. This makes it quite difficult to find traditional jobs here. In addition, Cape Verde is such a tiny country, that most job openings are quickly filled by qualified (and sometimes unqualified) Cape Verdeans who will obviously be given first preference. Finally, local jobs do not pay anything like the wages expats are used to in their home countries. So my advice to expats is just forget about local jobs. Simply not worth the time or the effort.

Despite this, there are many, many jobs for expats who are willing to go the non-traditional route. The most obvious place to look is in the tourism sector in Sal (or Boavista) because 80% of all tourists visiting CV go to those two islands and most of the companies who are driving tourism are located on those two islands...and they are foreign owned. Since the tourists pay European prices and expect good service (including the ability to communicate fluently in English), you will find that you are more employable than most of the locals and you can expect much better pay levels.

On the main island of Santiago, there are many, many possibilities for expats. But suffice it to say that you will need to search in businesses and institutions that are foreign, of which there are many. Another possibility is to start your own consulting company...you can consult with large local companies or foreigners since they are the only ones who can afford to pay for such services. Or start your own business.

On other islands, you can be a consultant to foreign clients (but work via the internet). Or start your own business targeting the few tourists that visit the smaller islands. Don't expect more than a living wage. So these other islands are for those who want to live a more quiet lifestyle.

Under no circumstances should you ever work for a Cape Verdean company, unless it is foreign owned and managed. Believe me, you do not want to ever do this. Ever. You will become frustrated immediately upon studying how Cape Verdeans run their own local companies. You will not be able how they stay in business and you will want to give the owner good advice. But it will be instantly dismissed because even though you may have considerably more experience, they will not be able to accept your advice since you will be considered pushy, and insolent and you will need to know your place as all Cape Verdean workers do. So, save yourself the misery...just don't do it, I have made this mistake and will not allow you to make this mistake if I can help it.

What are the ones most in-demand for expats?
There are no "most in demand" jobs for expats here in CV per se. You just need to be creative and do your own thing, or approach foreign-owned companies and institutions, or local companies that are owned and managed by foreigners. With foreign experience and after you've lived here long enough, you will see hundreds of possibilities for making a living as an expat in CV.

Which industry and/or jobs have limited workforce?
Every industry in Cape Verde has a limited workforce simply because the country is tiny and the population is young, but it is not because the supply of workers is limited. There are more qualified local workers than jobs. So the local unemployment levels are quite high. The only sector where the jobs exceed the supply of workers is the tourism industry because the number of tourists coming to Cape Verde exceeds the entire Cape Verdean workforce by a factor of maybe 5 to 10 to 1. There is only one Hotel & Tourism school and they cannot produce graduates fast enough to meet the demand. So the primary sector in which to search for a job (or to start a business) is TOURISM.

Regardless of the local situation, I do not know of a single expat who does not have a good source of income in CV.

Are there any existing surveys, data, or reports done regarding this topic in Cape Verde?
There is a job survey and employment data regarding jobs in Cape Verde. This is done by the National Institute of Statistics which is charged with tracking economic data. But don't even look at this. It is of exactly ZERO value to expats. All it shows is that there are insufficient local jobs and too many qualified local workers for jobs that pay peanuts. The local job market is not what any expat needs to be concerned with.

If you have any questions or need help finding a job in CV, feel free to contact me via private message regarding your own specific situation and I'd be happy to point you in the right direction. Furthermore, if you are going to work in CV or start a business, you will also need to know how to get your residency visa and your national worker ID and/or how to register your official company or consulting practice. There are always those little details. And I am here to help!

Angelo

Top man Angelo,

I have sent you a Private Message regarding other matters. I visited Sal for the first time and spent a week from Dec 19th to 26th 2018. I could see that the place depended heavily on tourism and started to scratch my brains to see what I would do if I lived in CV.

Regards
Mark

Hi Mark. I responded to your private message. There are quite a number of options in sal if you speak English. Sal has been overtaken by English-speaking expats who now own most of the small businesses. And the customers mostly speak English too. So jobs are plentiful, but they will be mostly service oriented. For professional type services, you'll want to set up your own consultancy.

Cheers

vwapachey wrote:

Top man Angelo,

I have sent you a Private Message regarding other matters. I visited Sal for the first time and spent a week from Dec 19th to 26th 2018. I could see that the place depended heavily on tourism and started to scratch my brains to see what I would do if I lived in CV.

Regards
Mark

Thank you Sir

@Hello sir,

I am a Liberian from West Africa planned to move to cape Verde and stay.

Can Liberian ordinary passport holder live and work in cape Verde?

I am a web developer can I have a job in cape Verde?

What is the cost of obtaining cape Verde resident permit as a member of ECOWAS state?

What is the cost of single room apartment for rent per month?

I also write and speak English very well as a graduate.

I also studied information Technology.

How can I live legally in cape Verde and work?

How much money do I need for access declaration?

Best regards

- @DARIOUS MANEH

@CVAngelo

Thanks very much for your timely response.

Let me firstly say a big thank out to you.

What is the requirements for obtaining Cape verde resident permit and work permit?

Besides my school career I also wants to come to cape Verde CV and engage in Blogging and YouTuber.

And start explore the island.

With this being said,can find any other job like security guard, Graphics design, Airbnb and Booking.com to earn a living whilst I am living in CV?

Please

Which work can you recommend that I can come and do just to end a living?

I am willing to adapt to learning new things.

Best regards

- @DARIOUS MANEH

@CVAngelo

Hello sir,

My name is Franklin Goodluck, am planning on visiting Cape Verde anytime soon and I've been very much enlightened with your detailed informations about hobs and living in general in this beautiful.

I'll be very grateful if i can be privileged to chat with you privately as I've more to learn from you sir before i make my move.

***

Thanks.