The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) has over the years demonstrated its unwavering commitment to critical skills development in South Africa.
On Friday, 9 February MISA hosted an orientation session for its current cohort of the flagship Young Graduate Programme in Midrand. The Civil and Electrical engineering, Town Planning, Project and Construction management graduates are drawn from various institutions of higher learning across the country and are then placed in different municipalities.
The main objective of the graduate programme is to increase the pool of the Council of the Built Environment professionals within the local government space towards enhancement of municipalities’ capacity to plan, develop, operate and maintain infrastructure for efficient service delivery.
According to the MISA’s acting Chief Executive Officer, Ntandazo Vimba, the professionalisation of the graduates involved a “systematic process which is regulated and managed by professional bodies and associations in various disciplines.”
“We understand the critical need for engineering and built environment skills in South Africa. However, we not only want young people who are qualified in these disciplines, we need to ensure that they have internationally-recognised training and are registered professionals,” he said.
The graduates participated in informative presentations facilitated by professional and statutory bodies such as the South African Council For Planners, the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions, Engineering Council of South Africa as well as the Council for the Built Environment.
Minister Des van Rooyen congratulated the young graduates and emphasised the importance of seizing opportunities provided by the South African government. “We are committed to closing the critical skills gap that continues to hamper service delivery especially in Municipalities. Therefore through MISA’s capacity building programmes we will continue to transform the built engineering sector by empowering young South Africans,” said Minister van Rooyen.
Representatives of the various professional and statutory bodies present at this important event emphasised the need for ethical leadership and dedication to the improvement of South Africa through adherence to cutting edge engineering standards.