I am sure most of you are already looking forward to your well-earned annual break in a week or two. I certainly am. This year has flown by even faster than last year! You can read a summary of SAIMC’s busy and exciting year in my presidential address at the inaugural gala dinner. It’s published elsewhere in this magazine, (http://instrumentation.co.za/+C18409) along with some great pictures of that fantastic evening.
The SAIMC team has been busy working with ECSA on two important activities:
1. Identifying the skills required for its strategic infrastructure projects (SIPs)
ECSA launched its engineering skills survey on 8 October and the SAIMC is supporting them by publicising this survey on our website and through our partner channels such as SA Instrumentation and Control magazine. This survey is critical to determining the baseline of technical skills available in this country so that we can plan the skills pipeline going forward. We strongly encourage all readers to take the short survey at www.engsurvey.co.za.
Our immediate past president Johan Maartens is playing the lead role in working with the Occupational Team for Electronic Engineering. The team consists of the members shown in the table.
There have been various interactions with ECSA, DHET and, particularly, Dr Alyson Lawless, who is advisor to the deputy director general of the DHET. The initial estimates for tertiary institution intakes in 2014 have already been submitted and more work is required for the next submission in March 2014 for the medium- to long-term requirements. The various SIPs will be fully unpacked to determine the skills required and the shortage that needs to be filled. We thank all the team members for their valuable contribution and for sacrificing their time for this project of national importance.
2. Contributing to the ECSA Thought Leadership Forum
There was an administrative delay with this project and hence the deadline has been moved out. Oratile Sematle, our vice president, is taking the lead role here in collating the team’s ideas for short-, medium- and long-term goals. The members of this team are:
* Oratile Sematle – SASOL
* Paul Venter – BHP Billiton
* John Owen-Ellis – SAIMC
* Johan Maartens – Siemens
* Mervyn Govender – RBM
* Ayanda Mchunu – SASOL
* Leon Govindsamy – Proconics
* John Phala – SASOL
* Dave Bean – IDX Online
* Thulani Shabalala – SAIMC
* Vinesh Maharaj – Royal HaskoningDHV
These members will be assisting us in formulating a strategy for the way forward for South Africa on issues such as addressing water leaks, and rolling out a smart grid for the country. Once again, we thank all the team members for their valuable contribution and for sacrificing their time for this issue of national importance.
Happy and safe holidays to you all. We will bring you more value next year – watch this space. Please e-mail me on [email protected] with your constructive feedback.
Working together, achieving more,
Vinesh Maharaj, President.
The full presidential address can be found at: http://instrumentation.co.za/+C18409
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