Industry has long been concerned about graduates who have little understanding of the modern equipment they will encounter in industry. The notion of “we will teach them the basics and you teach them the rest” has since died at the hands of strong competition and increasingly demanding customer requirements.
This has triggered an investigation into the possibility of creating a system whereby graduates register with SAIMC and rotate through vendors to gain experience on modern equipment.
An additional option would see SAIMC rotating graduates through participating industry partners. Over a period of three to four years, graduates could develop the skills required to satisfy the requirements for registration as a professional practitioner with ECSA.
SAIMC is exploring the possibility of financing this endeavour using the B-BBEE Skills Development funding model. This concept is described as the Graduate Rotation 4 Industry Program or GRIP. It would be owned and quality assured by SAIMC, and co-funded through B-BBEE Skills Development.
Call to action
SAIMC requires the participation of:
• OEMs that could make their training available to students in the programme. This could be achieved through access to available openings in their scheduled training programmes.
• Industry partners to inform SAIMC when additional manpower is required. This would provide participants who have already developed skills at the OEMs with practical industry exposure, enabling them to gain the experience required for ECSA registration.
• B-BBEE experts who could assist in fine-tuning the current programme.
The following is a structured, implementation-ready model showing how SAIMC could establish this facility, how graduates would rotate through vendors and industry, how it links to ECSA registration, and how it could be financed sustainably.
Draft programme structure
The proposed programme would be structured over a three-year period. During the first year, graduates would rotate through participating vendors to gain exposure to modern automation, control and instrumentation technologies while receiving formal product and application training. The second year would focus on plant-based experience, with graduates rotating through participating industrial facilities where they would apply their knowledge in real operating environments under the guidance of experienced practitioners.
The final year would concentrate on professional practice, competency development and the compilation of the evidence required for ECSA registration. Throughout the programme, participants would progressively build the technical knowledge, practical experience and professional competencies needed to become industry-ready engineering practitioners.
SAIMC’s strategic and operational roles
Under this model, SAIMC would serve as the national coordinator rather than the employer. Its role would include registering graduates, managing rotation schedules, maintaining the competency framework, ensuring training quality, providing ECSA-aligned documentation templates, managing B-BBEE funding flows, issuing certificates of completion, and maintaining a national database of graduates and participating organisations.
Participating vendors would provide access to training programmes, exposure to modern equipment and technologies, assessment opportunities, and financial support through B-BBEE Skills Development initiatives.
Industry partners would provide workplace exposure, mentorship and practical project opportunities, while also contributing workplace evidence required for ECSA registration. They would also be able to support the programme through B-BBEE Skills Development funding.
Financing model using B-BBEE Skills Development funding
A key strength of the proposal is that it can be financed through existing B-BBEE Skills Development obligations. Relevant categories would include learnerships, internships, work-integrated learning programmes, and informal training initiatives. This would create a sustainable funding mechanism while also addressing the industry’s need for skilled and professionally developed graduates.
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SAIMC |
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version