Many good engineers are leaving South Africa to undertake contract work in other countries or choose to work for the private sector instead of government, recruitment company Network Recruitment team leader Bellah Nxumalo tells Engineering News.

She says this is because the private sector presents better career opportunities, while the international sector offers more money and if engineers have worked overseas, they are on such a high salary scale that the local market cannot afford them.

“The private sector is more marketable and offers better salaries and more opportunities, which makes it difficult to get a graduate to go another route.”

Nxumalo adds that the more of a specialist an engineer is, the more marketable the person becomes, thereby making it easier to be placed in the industry by recruiting companies.

She stresses that being a “jack of all trades” in the industry is not recommended because this creates confusion when placing engineers.

“Currently, there is a bigger demand for sales engineers. Graduates need to know the right channels to follow to get jobs that are best suited to them,” Nxumalo says, adding that smaller, more sustainable companies are currently a good option for engineering graduates.

“Although graduates aspire to work for big companies, they should remember that they might not stand out and be recognised for their performance as they would if they had worked for smaller companies.”

There seems to be more opportunity to be actively involved in projects in small and medium-sized organisations, she notes.

Nxumalo says the main challenge for newly qualified engineers is doing work that they are not passionate about.

“Many graduates are desperate to get a job, so they accept any offer without investigating the opportunities that are available, which might better suit their passion,” she says.

She highlights that there is a sense of entitlement among newly qualified engineers, but they need to realise that a degree is just a piece of paper and they need to be trained by companies before they can add any value.

This sense of entitlement, Nxumalo says, is a common trait of millennials, the demographic cohort following Generation X, which could originate from upbringing.

“Lately, we find that graduates today come from a place that has told them engineers are in demand and scarce – this mindset needs to be changed.”

Nxumalo adds that, for a graduate to be successful, the person must have done well in his or her studies to get a well-paying job. She notes that a company is not willing to invest in someone who does not do well – a graduate must understand that the company is investing in him or her through training, which takes time.

“Graduates have no working experience and so a recruiter or company can judge them only on their results and attitude,” she concludes.