Consulting Engineers South Africa’s (Cesa’s) Young Professionals Forum (YPF) has expressed its solidarity with students at tertiary institutions across the country in their fight against what it claims are “exorbitant” fees and fee increases, noting in a statement on Wednesday that the success of the national “Fees Must Fall” movement has demonstrated the power of focused engagement in bringing about positive change.

It did, however, condemn the damage to public and university property, as well as isolated incidents of violence, which it claimed reduced the ability of the students to make a meaningful impact.

YPF chairperson Jeshika Ramchund-Moonsamy added that the campaign had brought temporary reprieve to the thousands of students “desperately” trying to complete their studies.

“We have barely unpacked the reality of the vast number of students who are unable to secure workplace training to complete their studies and exacerbated by the lack of meaningful jobs for new graduates and entrants to the job market,” she commented.

With South Africa’s gross domestic product growth at 1.3% in the three months to June – its worst performance since the 2009 recession – businesses continued to struggle to stay afloat, the organisation held.

Ramchund-Moonsamy added that the Cesa YPF was particularly concerned about the students in engineering and construction-related studies, referencing a recent announcement by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor that there was a shortage of engineers in South Africa.

“However, the recent Cesa YPF National Survey revealed that a staggering 71% of young professionals in the industry know students at tertiary institutions that cannot find vocation work and in-service training to complete their qualifications.

“It is also worrying that 65% of young engineering graduates have difficulty in finding employment after graduation,” she commented.

Cesa YPF urged the government on behalf of the potential entrants and students of the industry to put initiatives in place to address the anomalies in procurement and to accelerate the ability of infrastructure service delivery to create a multitude of skilled and unskilled job opportunities across South Africa.