On Tuesday 6 June, as a precursor to the opening of Africa Automation Fair 2017, the SAIMC hosted a breakfast session at the Northgate Dome for select industry delegates, representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, ECSA, SACAC, the EU Chamber and a number of educational institutions.
During the opening address, incumbent president Oratile Sematle outlined how the function was aimed at raising awareness for the need to transform the automation industry in South Africa, and Africa at large, in preparation for the new-age demands of the looming 4th Industrial Revolution.
The president’s message stressed the need for closer collaboration between stakeholders from government and industry in order to tailor the skills development and training of the next generation of automation workers more closely with the needs of a manufacturing industry that will be required to ‘go digital’ in order to remain globally competitive.
SAIMC vice president and chairman of the education sub-committee, Rob Mackenzie, picked up the presentation and put the audience straight into context. “The 3rd Industrial Revolution was driven by automation,” he explained. “And now that we are on the cusp of Industrie 4.0, which is even more specialised and demanding, we still do not have a recognised qualification for automation engineers and technicians.”
The problem the SAIMC has identified is a lack of employable graduates from universities and colleges due to the technology gap between industry requirements in the manufacturing sector, and the make-up of current engineering qualifications. However, there is no need for a complete re-design of engineering curricula. In fact, according to the SAIMC, there are solutions that could be implemented almost immediately if the required cooperation and funding could be obtained.
The University of Johannesburg has developed an industry-focused process engineering curriculum that is ready for implementation as soon as it can secure the funding to build the laboratory required for the practical aspects of the program. “The estimated cost for this is R3,5 million,” outlined Mackenzie, “of which the SAIMC has already pledged R600 000.”
The SAIMC is now in the process of approaching industry vendors and end users, the consumers of properly qualified automation engineers, in an effort to identify other interested donors. In parallel, the SAIMC and UJ will also address possible contributions from relevant education bodies and SETAs.
Immediate past president Vinesh Maharaj stressed the urgency of the situation when he rounded off the presentations with an overview of the importance of Strategic Infrastructure Projects (SIPS) in the balanced economic development of the southern African region. “The shortfall in the number of skilled automation engineers required for the SIP projects is alarming, and this doesn’t even take into account the requirements for manufacturing in the private sector,” emphasised Maharaj. “Developing skilled people is about to become as vital as building physical assets.”
“Our aim this morning was to create a higher level of awareness for a situation that we believe has become critical,” concluded Sematle as he thanked the breakfast audience for their attendance. “But, if we get the right levels of cooperation and commitment between the relevant stakeholders from government, education and the private sector, we as the SAIMC believe the status quo can quickly be reversed allowing us to develop our own home-grown automation skills, instead of having to import more expensive ones from abroad.”
For more information contact Ina Maartens, SAIMC, 086 107 2462, [email protected], www.saimc.co.za
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