South Africa’s engineering, industrial and business arena needs to get ready for the roll-out of the National Development Plan (NDP), according to Adelia Pimentel, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Steel Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA). “The NDP, a government blueprint for boosting the South African economy through massive industrial development, aims to grow the number of engineering graduates by 40%, from 8 792 in 2011 to over 12 000 in 2016,” says Pimentel. “Right now, the engineering and manufacturing sector only has a quarter of the artisans needed to meet the goals of the NDP, so will industry be ready for the needs of the NDP?”

This challenge is one of the many issues to be covered at SEIFSA’s annual conference during the SA Industrial and Technology Fair (INDUTEC) at Gallagher Convention Centre on 16 May. INDUTEC takes place from 14 to 16 May. The SEIFSA conference will focus on the NDP and its implications for the metal and engineering sector. “NDP Commissioners have identified economic growth and job creation as key objectives, and I believe the metal and engineering sector can play a vital role in contributing  to those aims,” says Pimentel.

Top Business Leaders in Speaker Line-Up

Bonang Mohale, President of the Black Management Forum and also Chairman of Shell South Africa, will discuss the impact of the NDP on South African businesses at the conference. “We need to adopt fine macro-economic policies that encourage direct foreign investment, job creation and small and medium enterprise development,” explains Mohale. “Businesses will feel more secure in taking risks in the economy, especially with the assurance of the NDP’s R1-trillion infrastructure budget. By government genuinely partnering with the private sector, large projects can be delivered on time, on budget and in full.”

“Through participation, government is committed to convening regular high-level leadership meetings between government and business,” says Dr Raymond Patel, CEO of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority (merSETA). “These collaborations will provide a route for focused dialogue to discuss the contribution of the manufacturing and engineering sector to the implementation of the NDP. These high-level meetings are intended to identify blockages and find solutions to these specific challenges.” Professor JP Landman, a popular and outspoken trend and political analyst, will discuss three possible scenarios for South Africa at the SEIFSA conference. “SA clearly has vast potential and most South Africans are keen to realise that.  Different scenarios help to concentrate the mind on what needs to be done,” he says.

Trueman Goba, Commissioner of the NDP, says South Africa needs to grow its economy by 5,4% a year over the next 20 years. Goba will be introducing the NDP from a government and policy perspective at the conference. “We need to create about 11 million new jobs if the broad goal of the NDP – a prosperous, equal society by 2030 – is to be met,” says Goba. “This requires better education, a healthier population, better infrastructure, a sound social safety net, a capable state and less corruption.”
Professor Raymond Parsons, Specialist Policy Advisor at Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), will be addressing delegates on the NDP as it currently stands.  “The NDP is a policy blueprint for eliminating poverty and reducing inequality in South Africa by 2030,” says Parsons. “Among other things, it identifies the key constraints to faster economic growth and presents a road map to a more inclusive economy that will address the country’s socio-economic imbalances. We hope the plan will underpin all future economic and social planning and regulations, providing the golden thread that underpins the battle to address the challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.”

“The NDP is a plan for the whole country with ambitious goals for poverty reduction, economic growth, economic transformation and job creation,” says Henk Duys, President of SEIFSA. “The private sector has a major role to play in achieving these objectives.” Alongside the SEIFSA Conference runs the South African Industry and Technology Fair 2013, a 10-shows-in-one trade exhibition focusing on companies involved in technology, manufacturing, energy and engineering, the water, gas and petroleum sectors, and the pumps, valves and pipes industry.