The gap between the professional talent needed by employers and those available in the working sector is widening as the years go by. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has stated that South Africa is nowhere close to reaching the international benchmark. In its present condition, the international norm is one engineer per 40 people and South Africa only has one engineer per 2 600 people.  If South Africa intends to prosper and compete in the global market, it needs to develop scarce skills.

According to Professor Ian Jandrell, Dean of the faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa could possibly run the risk of falling behind and sidelined by the global community if it does not consider scarce skills as a national priority, particularly in the engineering sector.

Employment studies have disclosed that there is an increased change in the level of skills needed in the country, making education a vital part in combating this challenge. As a result, institutions and training centres need to provide students with the right skills for successful job placements. The development process should start from high school, through to university all the way to professional development and employment.

Prof Jandrell agrees that universities can replicate in great measure the high-level scarce skills to move the country forward and foster development on the continent. He recommends that continuous alterations be made to the curricula taught at institutions to ensure that students stay at the cutting edge of innovative technology, knowledge, and research.

Although there are institutions that are currently working with the private and public sectors to assist in developing skills, much is dependent on economic growth, political health and growing investor confidence in the country. For example, little can be done in the infrastructure and mining sectors without financial stability.

In order to develop these scarce skills, transformation should be a priority. A considerable amount of work still needs to be done to attract and retain females in the engineering profession. ECSA's 2017 Annual Report states that of the 16 733 registered professional engineers in South Africa, only 865 were females.

If the country is to develop scarce skills in engineering, the number of engineering graduates needs to increase in the years to come. Mentorship programmes need to be implemented to upskill the current engineer pool in order to transfer expert knowledge.

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