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ECSA’s framework revisions seek to improve accountability in profession

SIPHO MADONSELA The Engineering Council of South Africa has come out of the cocoon of operating in an isolated area

SIPHO MADONSELA The Engineering Council of South Africa has come out of the cocoon of operating in an isolated area

9th September 2016

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

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The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has concluded its nationwide consultative process on the revisions to its governance frameworks by engaging engineering practitioners of the different disciplines in the country.

Revisions to the governance instruments include the Recognition of Voluntary Associations Framework, the Continuing Professional Development policy and the candidate engineer commitment and undertaking guidelines that are accompanied by accords with employer bodies.

This revision points to ECSA’s ongoing activities to increase efficiencies to the benefit of all engineers, and the South African public, says ECSA CEO Sipho Madonsela.

He stresses that the reason for the revision of these frameworks is to align the measure of responsibility of all the engineering practitioners with the accountability that is required of every professional engineer.

“Our regulatory framework cannot be seen as stagnant, especially when the needs of our stakeholders are changing at a dynamic pace. This is why we have chosen to take . . . a bold step in response to the needs of the profession – to strike a balance between ECSA’s role as the custodian and regulator of the profession and [the role of] the engineering profession at large,” Madonsela reiterates.

The consultative process was conducted in all nine provinces, while three sessions were specifically scheduled for Gauteng, which has the largest concentration of engineers and voluntary associations in South Africa. The consultations were held in July and August.

The motivation for the public consultations stems from the industry’s feedback in the 2015 ECSA national roadshow consultation, where the council was called on to fulfil the role of leading and upholding the integrity of the engineering profession. The council was further tasked with insulating registered persons from the risks of working in environments that would force them to breach the ECSA code of conduct.

“There was also a call from candidate engineers and young professionals to take the necessary measures required to address the absence of work-based training and mentoring programmes to provide adequate professional support,” says Madonsela.

The concerns of the profession highlighted during this process motivated the revision of the three frameworks under review. ECSA had also received independent requests from government (through the Council for the Built Environment) and from the voluntary associations to consult on the compilation of the revision of these documents.

The council had, therefore, drafted one revision with which all stakeholders could align, and for their review and commentary.

It collated all the comments and findings pertaining to the draft revision at the end of last month. “This information will be presented in a report to the outgoing and incoming council, tentatively in September,” Madonsela explains.

“ECSA hopes that [from] these processes, the council will have an enriched . . . and improved environment on how it regulates the profession going forward,” he says, stating that he believes that the revisions will benefit ECSA, voluntary associations, employer bodies and industry professionals.

Madonsela notes that “ECSA has come out of the cocoon of operating in an isolated area”, concluding that the council has become more integral to professional engineering practice by engaging more with industry stakeholders, reaching out to employer bodies that depend on engineers regulated by ECSA, and by linking with government, which is a major procurer of the services of registered professionals.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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