The New Growth Path (NGP) framework was released in 2010 under the leadership of Minister Ebrahim Patel. The policy’s main objective is to create five million new jobs by 2020.

Central to the NGP is a massive investment in infrastructure as a critical driver of job creation across the economy. According to the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE), the main challenge to be faced in achieving the objectives of the NGP is ensuring sufficient numbers of skilled engineering professionals in the public sector to tackle this massive rollout of infrastructure. Vaughan Rimbault, CEO of SAIMechE, discusses some of the Institution’s strategic objectives which address this challenge.

The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP), adopted in 2012, will see the South African Government investing R827 billion over a three year period from 2013/14, in building new and upgrading existing infrastructure. According to Rimbault, the single key issue that needs to be addressed is ensuring that the public sector is sufficiently skilled in their professional engineering resources, in order to be able to implement the NIP and, in the longer term, the National Development Plan. “If one just considers the number of projects, number of tenders, evaluations of specifications and site inspections that need to be dealt with as part of the NDP, then it is clear that the public sector will require substantially more engineering professionals than it has at present,” says Rimbault.

Compounding the problem is the lack of sufficient engineering professionals in the current public sector to maintain existing infrastructure.  Advertisements for senior engineering professionals in the public sector are a regular feature in the media, suggesting that there is a shortage of suitable candidates with the necessary education, experience and demographic qualities.

SAIMechE proposes a solution which aims to transform the public sector into a nett producer of engineering professionals. Rimbault says there are tremendous opportunities for turning the public sector into an effective environment for developing engineering professionals. “What SAIMechE proposes is that the public sector focuses on the development of their own professional engineering resources as a sustainable, long-term solution to their own needs.”

“Through the formation of partnerships with professional bodies such as SAIMechE, the public sector would be in position to implement programs within their existing structures, and develop the professional skills required for their current and long-term needs. Ultimately, we would be working towards the public sector producing surplus engineering professionals in 5 to 10 year’s time,” says Rimbault.

Chris Reay, Chairman of SAIMechE’s Communications Committee says: “It’s time to stop talking about the numbers, and focus our attention on creating these development opportunities as quickly as possible. In the exercise of the NDP, the public sector effectively becomes what we in the engineering and project space refer to as the ‘owner’s team’ – which comprises the top of the project pyramid. They effectively own the project, and are responsible for conceiving, approving and conceptualising the project. An essential component is that this function requires a team of competent, skilled and experienced resources. The owner’s team then relies on the consultants, engineers, contractors, the operations and maintenance functions for the lifetime of the asset. If your owner’s team is deficient, or dysfunctional in any way, the rest of the project simply won’t work”.

Reay reiterates that the numbers required in specialist resources are in excess of what exists in the market, as it is a very specific skill that is needed. “The required resources are in very limited supply. The problem is further compounded by the challenges created by BBBEE policies, which have excluded certain skilled and experienced professionals from public service or encouraged them into early retirement, creating a huge professional engineering skills gap in public service.  The numbers needed are high, and strict application of BBBEE rules may jeopardise effective skills development.  We need to use all available resources to ensure the proper development and empowerment of all candidates”, Reay adds.

Strategic objectives
Commenting on the overall long term strategic objectives of SAIMechE and how these tie in with the goals of the NDP, Rimbault says that SAIMechE’s Professional Development Program (PDP) is being specifically designed to develop professional competencies in graduates in the work environment. “This is our primary strategic objective - to address the current and future need for engineering professionals with our economy,” says Rimbault, “and the programme is ideally suited for implementation in the public sector."

About SAIMechE
The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE) is the senior body representing the discipline of mechanical engineering in South Africa. It covers all fields of application as diverse as automobile, energy generation, process engineering, heavy manufacture, design, management, research, mining and education.
SAIMechE’s constitutional objectives are to serve the interests and needs of its members; to advance the science, art and practice of mechanical engineering; and to promote and maintain high standards in the profession of mechanical engineering.