Photo by: Duane Daws
In a bid to assist in the development of engineering skills in South Africa, engineering consulting firm WSP Africa has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Engineers Without Borders (EWB), an on-campus organisation that provides student engineers with the opportunity to work on community projects.
WSP explained in a statement that the projects selected by EWB’s student chapters provided its members with the opportunity to practice the theoretical knowledge gained at university and made a meaningful difference in communities throughout the country.
In addition, these budding engineers gained the soft skills that would aid their further growth and professional advancement when they entered the workplace.
To date, WSP had mentored the EWB project team from the University of Pretoria during the mid-year break and had sponsored the annual EWB Summit that took place in Johannesburg at the end of November.
Besides hosting 35 student engineers at its premises in Bryanston, WSP’s experts were involved in several panel discussions on topics such as the socioeconomic impacts of good engineering in Africa and the importance of mentoring and coaching in career development.
WSP Africa CEO Mathieu du Plooy said in a statement on Wednesday that there were too few qualified and experienced engineers in the country to meet the targets of the strategic infrastructure projects aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP).
“The impact of what this shortage will mean – not only for the engineering and construction sectors, but for the country in terms of reaching the goals and targets as laid out in the NDP by the 2030 deadline – is very real.
“Being one of the largest professional engineering consulting firms in Africa, we believe it is our duty to give back by supporting the development of young engineers – not only to future secure talent but to be a part of the change we want to see in our industry and the country,” he commented.