Skills shortage alarming, Solidarity warns
Trade union Solidarity warned today that Eskom's plans to take action against the growing skills crisis in the company may possibly be too late and that this may cost the company and the country dearly. Solidarity criticised the company and said that it has been warned about the skills shortage for several years and that skilled personnel are now approaching retirement, but that these warnings fell on deaf ears.
Solidarity's reaction follows after an announcement from Malusi Gigaba, Minister of Public Enterprises, who said that more than a third of Eskom's artisans, technicians and engineers are approaching retirement.
Solidarity further warned that the increasing need for skills in Eskom may cause additional problems for the company. It was recently announced that Eskom will require approximately 3 000 scientists and engineers as well as 24 000 artisans for the government's nuclear energy project.
The trade union described Gigaba's intention to reach transformation targets as irresponsible. Solidarity maintains that available skills should enjoy priority in this crisis.
The shortage of skills in South Africa reached alarming proportions over recent years. Solidarity already gave a warning four years ago concerning the extent of the shortage of engineers and artisans. In South Africa there is only one engineer for every 3 200 people, while countries such as India and China have one engineer for every 150 people and in Europe the number is approximately one engineer for every 250 to 300 people. In Australia, artisans earn up to three times as much as their counterparts in South Africa.
According to Ilze Nieuwoudt, spokesperson for Solidarity, the situation is alarming since the problem of declining skills in certain sectors were already brought to light in 2005. Dr. Con Fauconnier, former President of the Chamber of Mines, already warned in 2005 that the average age of qualified artisans in South Africa was 54 years at the time. "According to this prospect a large skills shortage will have an impact on the industrial and commercial sector by 2015. No real action has since been taken to solve the problem," Nieuwoudt said.
It was recently announced that 70 000 artisans need to be trained within the next five years to fulfil the country's demand for skills. According to Gigaba the state utility has already invested R780 million in training in the last financial year to avert the imminent skills crisis.
Moreover, 24 training centres have been established while 244 on-the-job training sites have been identified. Currently 5 225 students are registered, 3 780 of whom are enrolled in engineering and technical skills courses. An additional 5 000 young people will be entered into training courses in the near future, Gigaba said.
"It seems that the government is only now realising the extent of the skills crisis. Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, Minister of Public Works, recently launched a campaign to request retired engineers and artisans to present practical skills and training to an increasing number of trained but unqualified engineers and artisans," Nieuwoudt said.
Statement issued by Moira-Marie Kloppers, Spokesperson: Solidarity, March 17 2011
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