SA engineers concerned about skills shortage

A quarterly survey conducted by the Professional Provident Society (PPS) - the financial services provider for graduate professionals, shows that only 40% of nearly 800 South African engineers involved in the survey felt that current engineering skills shortage will be adequately addressed by the government in the short to medium term.

According to the PPS Head of Group Marketing and Stakeholder Relations, Gerhard Joubert, the results of the survey are alarming because initiatives have been put in place to address the issue - so it is concerning that engineers do not believe that these measures are sufficient. According to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), currently one engineer services over 3 000 people in South Africa compared with 227 in Brazil and 543 in Malaysia. Only 41% of those surveyed believe that the current education system is providing the necessary skills for the creation of potential engineers.

Joubert says that while the survey reveals a number of challenges for the engineering profession, there was some positive news, too. 84% of engineers surveyed are confident about the future of their profession over the next five years, and 74% said they would encourage their children to enter their profession. The survey suggests that - concerns aside, Joubert says, engineers also felt "extremely confident about the opportunities available to new entrants."

Read the full article on www.saimeche.org.za.