The SAICE Presidential Inaguration will take place on 23 February 2012. The SAICE President for 2012, Martin van Veelen will deliver his address. Below is an abstract of what he will present on the evening
The centre of gravity for the corporate memory and acquired experience and knowledge of civil engineers in South Africa at present sits in the 55 to 60 year age group. At the same time there is a sizeable student component that has just entered the job market, or will do so in the near future. What is sadly lacking is the middle group where traditionally the transfer of experience and skills took place. This leaves a gap to fulfil the needs and expectations of young engineers to acquire the knowledge and skills that will allow them to function as competent professional engineers.
The window of opportunity is very short. Within the next five to ten years the accumulated wisdom will reduce drastically when the ‘old guard’ retires. The risk is that South Africa will then become more and more dependent on knowledge from outside the country in order to develop the infrastructure that is the foundation for economic and social development. We will then join the ranks of most other African countries where there is no significant local consulting industry, and where foreign technology and solutions are foisted on the population, whether it is suitable or not.
The biggest employer (direct and indirect) of engineering services in South Africa remains the Government (National, Provincial and Local), and the sector where most money is spent is in service delivery in the form of the provision and operation and management of infrastructure. It is therefore in this sector where experienced and knowledgeable professionals are required to plan the development of infrastructure, and also to oversee the sustainable management of the countries valuable infrastructure assets.
What is needed now, and it is needed urgently, is a succession plan that is practical and implementable. This plan has to be developed in consultation with the countries managers (i.e. Government) so that there is shared ownership and commitment. The implementation of this plan will require funding, and the mechanisms for this also have to be developed.
There are of course alternatives:
- We can embark on a process to re-invent the wheel and hope that it turns out to be round, or
- We can stand back, do nothing and over a few years wonder what happened.
I believe that the time for action is now.
Previous Presidential addresses:
Presidential Address 2010: Ali Naidu’s "An African Engineer's Viewpoint".
Presidential Address 2009: Elsabé Kearsley's “Engineering a Better Future".
Presidential Address 2008: Johan de Koker's "Growing together as an Institution"
Presidential Address 2007: Neil Macloed's "A time of opportunity for Civil Engineering in South Africa"
Presidential Address 2006: Sam Amod's "The Ecology of Construction"
Presidential Address 2005: Mike Deeks's "Safety in Numbers for Construction"
Presidential Address 2004: Ron Watermeyer's "The Sustainable Lifestyle: Our Responsibility for the 21st Century"