When will corporations start learning the value of education?
July 2003
News
During 2002 some large South African corporations individually approached the SA Institute of Measurement & Control and voiced their concerns over the poor competency levels of engineering staff. But as one looks deeper into the problem, the hypocrisy of some of our multinational corporations starts to show through.
I have had the privilege of serving on the National Council of the SAIMC for the last few years. During that time I have observed some of the sterling work that is being done by the branches of the SAIMC to further the education of their members. Branches typically hold monthly meetings at which members are brought up to date with many of the latest technologies, trends and products available in the market.
Standard SAIMC membership fees cost only R238 per annum, with other groups such as student and retired members paying approximately R70 per annum. For a large international company R238 is a negligible amount to enable its employees to attend 12 training sessions in a year. The reality is that some companies will not pay for their staff to attend Institute meetings even though the meetings are held after hours during the members' private time. And yet, like all technology-based companies, these companies are under the very real threat of a massive skills shortage. Other more enlightened corporations, such as Eskom, have seen the value in continued education for their professional employees.
The mind boggles when one hears that one of the large petrochemical giants refuses to pay for employees' professional registration fees (with the Engineering Council of South Africa, ECSA) unless there is a legal requirement of the job to do so. And this same company has the gall to bleat about the poor standards of training and education. Unbelievable!
Technews' technical journalist Dr Maurice McDowell asks some rather hard hitting questions regarding the state of engineering education in South Africa in this issue of SA Instrumentation & Control (see Can secondary education impart a full understanding on its own?).
A reminder that back-issues of SAI&C are available free of charge online at www.instrumentation.co.za. The SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide is also available free of charge online at www.ibg.co.za
Graeme Bell
Editorial Director: SA Instrumentation & Control
[email protected]
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