I am of the opinion that the education system in our country is not equipping the youth well enough to take their place in a new global economy. It is exactly the same with training in our industry. People are trained on a manufacturer’s equipment, and for that I take my hat off to members of the IIG and the SAIMC Patron members who provide equipment to training institutions. We also have seminars and workshops that explain the principles of automated control, networking and many other subjects. But the major shortcoming is that there is not a place where our learners are taught the bigger picture – the practical nature of things.
This means that our engineers, technologists and technicians are completing their training without being subjected to the intricacies of fault-finding or fine-tuning of complete processes. This has the effect that professionals are completing their training courses and then not being immediately useful in industry and able to resolve problems within hardware, software and control loops.
The SAIMC is investigating the possibility of providing this facility in cooperation with members of the IIG and our Patron members. Eric Carter from TurboTRAIN is doing a lot of work in this area. It is not clear yet whether this means establishing a fixed, large-scale facility or whether it will be a smaller, transportable one that can be moved from location to location. We are first designing a process which will cater for different scenarios and equipment, and then budget will play a role in completing the design.
MESA
During October, MESA South Africa will host the MESA Southern Africa Annual Conference with administration assistance being provided by the SAIMC. MES is picking up in South Africa; especially the automotive and food and beverage industries are making extensive use of this technology with others like petrochemical and mining also starting to adopt. This year has seen the global rollout of MES training, which will also be available at the local event.
Renewable energy
It has become quite clear that fossil fuels are becoming scarce and are endangering the well-being of people and animals on this planet. We took a motorcycle trip to Alexander Bay, Cape Agulhas, Kosi Bay and Pont Drif recently and it is obvious that other forms of energy will not do our country or our people any harm.
But, energy derived from wind and solar will require extensive investments; money that Eskom does not have, so much of it is expected to come from the private sector.
The question is: will politicians and their counterparts in the private sector be able to manage this challenge and ensure that funds are channelled with the responsibility required to ensure that our energy supply is adequate to cope with the growth expected to occur on the African continent?
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