The Civil Engineering Contractor January 2018 | Page 22

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
SA skills’ –
slippery slope
By Kim Kemp
Skills development remains front-of-mind in South Africa, as the youth
looks further afield for job opportunities and work satisfaction.
T
here is an army
of qualified civil
engineering graduates
who have no chance of ever
participating in the numerous
projects underway within
South Africa and the rest of
the continent. Partly to blame
for this dilemma is the slowing
economy and projects being
put on hold, but so too, many
of the graduates only have
the piece of paper that proves
they have gone through
the process of gaining a
degree.
“Without experience, that
piece of paper is merely an
indication that they are
‘teachable’”, says an industry
expert who prefers anonymity
– “as, without experience and
mentoring, the paper is of little
value,” he says.
According to Statistics SA,
110 000 skills within education,
science and engineering are
due to leave the country and
what is more important, is
that this is within the 25 to
29-year age group. Our youth
– our next leaders – are finding
20 - CEC January 2018
fulfilment elsewhere and taking
their skills offshore.
Challenges for youth
Amanda Masondo-Mkhize,
Young Professionals Forum
(YPF), Consulting Engineers
South Africa (CESA) says there
are many issues facing the youth
within the engineering sector
and draws attention to the lack
of female representation in
sector, “It is no secret that the
civil engineering industry is still
male dominated,” a situation
that is reflected throughout
industry and leadership
positions, she says. “While we
have equal rights, challenges
still exist for women; we are
still confronted by stereo-
typical thinking, specifically in
a ‘man’s world’ of engineering.”
Masondo-Mkhize adds, “By
the time students have reached
high school age, about 50% no
longer take maths or science
and of the number remaining,
about half will consider an
engineering profession. In
university, only one-in-five
involved in engineering, are
women. Of the total, 50% will
graduate of which 22% are
women engineering graduates.
From the latest Engineering
Council of South Africa
(ECSA), Engineering Report, of
that percentage, only 11% are
registered with the authority
and of that, 4% are professional
(female) engineers.”
Dr Graham Howell (PrEng)
chairman, partner and principal
engineer at SRK Consulting
(SA) comments on the reducing
numbers of engineers in general,
“The problem is not a new one,
and has been decades in the
making. I can remember our
class of 1975 at the University of
Cape Town numbering about 68
graduates; during the 20 years
that followed, these numbers
dwindled to 20, 15, and even
10 graduates a year – way too
few to sustain the industry
into the future. A similar trend
was also experienced at other
institutions.”
Howell says, echoing Masondo-
Mkhize’s observation around
science and maths, “Addressing
this issue has not been made