Market mechanisms and skills
In a capitalist society the driving forces are of an economic nature. The price and availability of goods and services are primarily determined by supply and demand; and to a lesser extent by government regulation. We live and work in a market and the market mechanisms should be facilitated by the actions of government.
In previous editorial comments our managing editor, Graeme Bell, and I have put forward various ideas for attracting and retaining engineers. These proposals have addressed the problem from the micro viewpoint. We know that there are problems relating to the education, development and training for engineers in South Africa, and various companies and organisations are addressing these issues in different ways. At the same time South Africa's skills base is being eroded through emigration and the lure of well-paying contract work outside the country's borders. We should also remember to look at the problem at the macro level.
At the end of September the European Union unveiled a 'Blue Card' job plan which is aimed at enticing skilled migrants to the 27-member bloc. In particular, the blue card is designed to attract engineers, IT workers and other highly qualified migrants from Asia, Latin America and Africa. The goal is to attract 20 million migrant workers to the EU over the next 20 years. One of the attractions of the plan is that it offers automatic permanent residency after five years. A prerequisite for obtaining a blue card is that applicants must have a one-year EU job contract in place with a salary of three times the minimum wage.
Locally the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) was formed by government in March 2006 to address the skills shortage in technical fields. In April this year Home Affairs announced the launch of a new work permit to attract foreign skilled workers. Foreign nationals with this permit are allowed to immigrate to South Africa without having a job. They then have 90 days in which to find work in their field of expertise.
In the context of a global market the South African demand (offer) does not appear sufficiently attractive vs its EU counterpart.
Shuttle safety
Before the October 23 launch of mission STS-120 of the space shuttle Discovery, NASA's Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) recommended that the space agency delay the launch in order to replace three of the reinforced carbon-carbon panels that protect the shuttle's leading wing edges from the scorching temperatures at re-entry. This recommendation came after an inspection found indications of defects.
Serious concerns were also expressed about going ahead with the launch without performing additional work to prevent foam from breaking off the ship's fuel tank at launch. Engineers were faced with having to make a decision between safety issues and schedule pressures. In the end it was reported that engineers were about evenly split on whether to continue with or abort the launch. In the end the shuttle program manager, Wayne Hale, told reporters, "[There was] a preponderance of evidence, in my mind, that says we have an acceptable risk to go fly."
Again this illustrates the life and death nature of engineering decisions. It is a heavy burden that the engineer carries.
At the time of writing, Discovery is still docked at the International Space Station where astronauts are facing other pressures such as a failing ball joint and ripped solar panel. We trust that the pre-launch decision proves to have been the correct one and that the vehicle and crew return safely.
In closing I wish you all a happy festive season and a prosperous new year and for fellow Christians I bid you a Happy Christmas.
Andrew Ashton
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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