South Africa desperately needs an entirely new type of engineer – and soon

South Africa’s unique brand of energy crisis – and the measures being taken to address it – requires an entirely new set of engineering skills, which are not yet specialisations at colleges or universities.

These skills – specifically grid transmission operators and system designers – are going to be needed at a large scale very soon, according to experts, leaving the country’s already dire engineering crisis in a much more precarious position.

Recently, Deputy President Paul Mashatile acknowledged the crucial role of engineers in advancing infrastructure and economic growth. He highlighted that the lack of diversity and inclusion contributes to a shortage of engineers in the country.

However, some experts have pointed out that poor governance is the main reason behind this issue.

Speaking at the UNESCO 9th Africa Engineering Week and Africa Engineering Conference this week, Deputy President Paul Mashatile said engineers are the backbone of any society and play a role in shaping the world.

“Considering that our continent is plagued by numerous socio-economic challenges, such as access to water, food and energy, among other things, it is necessary that we also emphasise the importance of infrastructure as a way to address some of these.

“Investing in world-class infrastructure contributes significantly to the quality of life of citizens as well as the competitiveness and attractiveness of countries, regions and cities,” he said.

However, Mashatile noted that engineering education has encountered numerous formidable challenges that have hindered its progress and development. These challenges encompass a wide range of issues, including but not limited to insufficient funding and resources in quantity and quality.

Pointing to other challenges facing the engineering sector in South Africa, he highlighted the limitations in diversity and inclusion, particularly regarding the inclusion and retention of women and other marginalised groups.

“The underrepresentation of women and other marginalised groups within the sector is a global phenomenon that is primarily structural and calls for strategic interventions that respond to challenges that marginalised groups face, such as unconscious bias, a lack of workplace flexibility, unclear promotion paths and limited roles,” he said.

However, speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the Co-director of the Centre for Sustainable Transitions at Stellenbosch University, Prof. Mark Swilling said that there are many reasons why South Africa is facing an engineering shortage – but the main one is poor governance and dysfunctionality in the public sector.

While attractive opportunities elsewhere in the world are another reason, the main driving force behind the shortage of engineers is the refusal to participate in dysfunctional institutions, said Swilling.

“Institutional meltdown and dysfunctionality over the last two decades in South Africa have been the primary driver of the loss of engineering talent – because talented people, no matter how much you pay them, simply refuse to be part of something dysfunctional,” he said.

Commenting on the career trajectory of capable engineers, Swilling said municipalities are heavily dependent on engineering capabilities to run the sewage, water, sanitation, and electricity systems.

As those institutions become weaker over time and financially less viable due to unfunded mandates, especially the smaller municipalities, engineers start moving up to bigger local authorities before leaving the public sector and becoming consultants or leaving the country.

According to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), the country has one engineer for every 3,100 people, compared to Germany, which has one engineer for every 200 people.

In countries like Japan, the UK and the USA, this ratio is about 1:310.

“Therefore, South Africa needs to produce ten times more engineers to compete favourably with developed economies,” according to the ECSA.

Moreover, swilling noted that power generation is of massive importance to any country, and the electricity transmission grid transformation planned for South Africa will create an entirely different ball game for the engineering sector.

“Not only must we accelerate the expansion of the grid, we also have to build a new skill set. The system operator – which is going to be moved into the national transmission company – will become the locus of a unique skill set that is required.

“As far as I know, there aren’t any dedicated educational programs at university engineering faculties for grid transmission operators and system designers, and that’s what the country will need soon on a large scale,” said Swilling.

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