SPEAKER’S NOTES FOR THE MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING CEREMONY
OF THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG AND THE GDID ON
THE 6 OCTOBER 2014
SALUTATIONS
Programme Director
Prof Saurabh Sinha, the Ex.Dean: Faculty of Engineering and the
Built Environment at UJ
Prof Angina Parekh, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic
Mr Bethuel Netshiswinzhe, Head of Department, GDID
Mr Cyril Gamede, President, the Engineering Council of South
Africa (ECSA) and Mr Sipho Madonsela, CEO, ECSA
Mr Zach Simpson, of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built
Environment FEBE at UJ
Dr André van Zyl, Director: Academic Development Centre (ADC),
UJ
Dr Rose Laka-Mathebula, Executive director: Student Governance
Dr Kim Battle, Vice-Dean: Teaching, Learning and Operations,
FEBE, UJ
Wesley Jacobs Director of the Human Resources Development at
the GDID
Officials from the Department and University staff
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
INTRODUCTION
Today marks an important milestone in moving our people and the
province forward. I am truly humbled and honoured to be part of
this Signing Ceremony.
Let me express our heartfelt gratitude to the University of
Johannesburg, in particular the Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment (FEBE) for their ingenuity and the Engineering
Council of South Africa (ECSA) for their stewardship in making
today a reality. We are truly indebted to both your institutions for
your positive response.
CHALLENGES
A little less than a month ago, I was invited to a memorable and an
eye opening event by the University of Johannesburg. It was the
Excellence Awards and Summit hosted by Women in Engineering
and Built Environment (WIEBE) in partnership with Group Five at
Melrose Arch.
I pointed out the fact that South Africa was at a crucial stage in the
history of engineering as the country has embarked on a massive
and very expensive expansion in infrastructure but without the
critical skill required to do so. I mentioned the fact that we are
facing a shortage of engineering capacity, particularly in the public
sector.
I made example of the capacity we have in relation to our needs
when compared intentionally. The 2010 FIFA World Cup being a
case in point. According to the Labour Department; we only have
473 engineers per million citizens while Japan, which co-hosted
the 2002 World Cup along with South Korea, has 3 306. Even
compared to other upper-middle income countries (developing
countries), like Chile (1 460 engineers per million citizens) and
Malaysia (1 843 engineers per million citizens), South Africa’s
engineering capacity is low.
In May this year, in The Star newspaper, Minister of Higher
Education Dr Blade Nzimande made the same point. He talked
about the top 100 national Scares Skills list. In his list, bar the
financial and medical practitioners, all of them had to do with
Engineering; from Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, Quantity Surveyors,
to Engineering Science Technicians, Industrial and Production
Engineers
to
Electricians
and
Chemical
Engineers.
The
Government has earmarked R845 billion for public sector
infrastructure projects and indicated another R3.2 trillion is
required for 43 projects considered for 2020.
This is the clearest indication yet that the task to produce the
required number of engineers can never be overemphasised.
Programme Director
Today provides us with an opportunity to actively support and
coach students who otherwise would not have made it in this
industry. We will be able to assist our bursary holder not to drop
out of the programme after their first or second year not only due
to adaptation to the academic environment but also life skills
challenges.
Whilst the pilot may only start with the 25 of our bursary holders,
the initiatives would assist ECSA to enhance its study on
“improving throughput in the Engineering Bachelors Degree” to
gain a better insight on improving our student’s success rate.
Allow me to assure of you of the GDID’s is committed to the
partnerships with Academia. We have already partnered with the
University of Pretoria on programmes aimed at skilling our
Engineers and Project Managers. As we cement this relationship,
we will be concluding another with the University of Witwatersrand
on similar programmes.
We are targeting the alarming rate of dropout of black African
students is universities and we hope to improve the skills level of
black African workers. The skills level of the black youth aged 25
to 34 is course for concern. Statistics indicate a massive decline of
skills in this important group.
It is therefore vital that we aggressively tackle the skills challenges
for the previously disadvantaged and this programme aims to
provide students with support that will prevent drop outs at
university level. The programme is modelled around the South
African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA’s) Thuthuka
model.
I am happy to announce that the GDID has committed R495 500
which will be used to support the 25 students with whom we are
starting this project.
This support will be the form of life skills
training, technical tutors appointed via the faculty of engineering
and the built environment, mentoring and coaching and study
techniques in preparation for candidacy with professional councils.
In the subsequent years, we will expand the programme to include
students studying at other universities and the expansion of the
programme will bring on board the Gauteng Department of
Education (GDE). Discussion has already commenced with the
Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) which is an entity of GDE
in this regard. We aim to identify learners at secondary school
level (from Grade 10) and provide them with support in critical
subjects such as Mathematics and Science. This will be done
through the Sci-Bono Centre which is another wing of GDE.
We will also partner with the State Owned Entities and the Private
Sector Companies to ensure students are provided with relevant
practical training which will assist them with the registration with
professional councils. We are developing roadmaps which will
provide the students with support and guidance on the
requirements
councils.
for
professional
registration
with
professional
THE PROGRAMME AND GOVERNMENT
As a nation, we are now ready to move on to the second phase of
our journey, in which we will completely eradicate the social,
economic and spatial legacy of apartheid and colonialism.
In the words of Gauteng Premier David Makhara: “In order to do
so, as the fifth administration, we have adopted a ten-pillar
programme aimed at radically transforming, modernising and reindustrialising Gauteng over the next five to fifteen years. These
pillars are:
Radical
economic
transformation,
Transformation
transformation;
Decisive
spatial
Accelerated social transformation;
of
the
state
and
governance;
Modernisation of the public service; Modernisation of
the economy; Modernisation of human settlements and
urban development; Modernisation of public transport
infrastructure; Re-industrialisation of Gauteng province
and
Taking the lead in Africa’s new industrial
revolution.
Each of these ten pillars represents a discrete strategic key result
area that provides for structured, programmatic integration of
outcomes to achieve our 2014-19 Manifesto commitments.
CONCLUSION
I am therefore, very happy that the Government’s radical
transformation agenda; consequently transformative principles on
which this initiative’s is based, are in sync.
I thank the University of Johannesburg in taking the process
forward by playing a charitable host to this programme, and the
leadership of ECSA by conceptualising and modelling this
programme.
Gauteng is the academic capital on South Africa with most
universities located here. This partner should form the basis from
which together; with all other education institutions, we partner to
achieve reduced disparities in education and built the skills our
country needs urgently.
Thank you