M.Com. (Economics) / This paper examines two issues: Firstly, it analyses the mismatch between the demand and the supply of engineers in South Africa (SA) and secondly, it investigates the availability of engineers (to serve per 100 000 people) in SA during the period 2000 - 2008. The study applied Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) together with a battery of Matrix tools. The findings of this study revealed that both the demand and the supply of engineers were rising but at varying rates. Results from the mismatch index demonstrated that the supply index has marginally improved between 2000 and 2008. This discovery could be relatively ascribed to the surge in engineering graduates from technikons. Furthermore, the study discovered that the trend of the mismatch index shows a '. negative mismatch between the demand and the supply of engineers in SA. This may imply that the demand for engineers has been satisfied only by the supply from universities between 2000 and 2008. In the light of the shortage of engineers, it was discovered that the need arose considerably between 2000 and 2008, since population growth escalated more rapidly than the supply of engineers. Based on these findings the following recommendations are suggested: In the short to medium term, the South African government should embark upon strategies aimed at curbing the exodus of its skilled and experienced engineers. This could be achieved through the creation of congenial working environments for local engineers. Financial incentives, in the form of competitive remuneration, should also be considered. In the same vein, the South African government needs to re-examine its labour laws, in order to make significant adjustments which may enable the country to attract expatriate engineers, without lengthy delays. In the long run, the South African government needs to broaden the capacity of both secondary schools and universities in terms of the production of competent Science teachers and lecturers. In this regard, the South African government could send its Mathematics and Science teachers, lecturers and educators to countries that are leading these fields for quality training. The most likely positive outcome of this could be the increased number of competent Mathematics and Science educators in South Africa, which will in turn translate into well-equipped matriculants meeting the tougher demands of the Engineering degree programmes at both technikon and university levels.

M.A. / Women engineers operating in a male-dominated environment face many challenges and are critical to retain in South Africa’s developing economy. The main aim of this research study was to determine the strategies that women engineers use in negotiating their work identity. The strategies were identified by using the Conceptual Model of Engineers’ Identities as a framework to develop an understanding of women engineers’ identity work. A qualitative method was employed to gather the data for this study. The research design that determined how the data would be analysed was a qualitative survey. This study consisted of ten research participants working in different organisations situated in Gauteng and Pretoria, South Africa...

Transition is a common characteristic of our lives, particularly in a rapidly changing world. In this context, how careers are enacted has become increasingly varied, requiring new conceptual tools to study the transitions of learners and workers. This paper uses theoretical constructs from the literature on boundaryless career discourse as well as learning and on work transitioning in order to explore the learning pathways of environmental engineers. It thus contributes to empirical work that articulates ongoing transitions (beyond the first job) within ‘occupational and organisational life’, as well as to the understanding of learning pathways as educational and occupational progression. The career stories help us to understand how non-linear transitions emerge, the complexity of these transitions, and the need to attend to broader institutional arrangements within and across education and training, the labour market and the workplace. Through its focus on the environmental engineer, it helps us to understand the processes and outcomes of transitions in an important occupation in contemporary professional work in South Africa. Finally, in a field dominated by research on entry into a first job, the paper also provides much-needed insights into occupational transitions into specialised work.

South Africa, still very young in its democracy, has undergone numerous changes, both in terms of government and its economy. The new government with its challenge of righting the wrongs that apartheid left behind has bought about sweeping policy changes. Amongst these changes, was the implementation of new strategies in government's expenditure regarding infrastructure development. In addition, to address the transformation issue of improving representation, job opportunities and income amongst the previously disadvantage people, government brought about the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and the Affirmative Action (AA) policies. These changes have arguably had more of a negative impact than a positive one, especially concerning civil engineering professionals in both the private and public sector. This dissertation discusses the above policies and the effects upon the demand and supply of civil engineers, technologists and technicians in South Africa. Since 1994 the South African government has steadily increased its budget towards infrastructure development. The recession during the seventies and eighties has created major problems with regards to secession planning which has resulted in the high skills shortage within this industry. The other factor that has contributed heavily to the skills shortage is the implementation of BEE and AA, as many civil professionals have left the industry or the country. The increase in infrastructure development in South Africa highlights the shortage of civil engineering professionals and the supply issues associated with perceptions within the industry coupled with the poor maths and science marks of matriculants not meeting the minimum university or technikon entry requirements. The trend at eThekwini municipality shows that there are more technicians and technologists than engineers. The municipality is finding it difficult to employ engineers as there are few in the industry and that, private firms are offering them much higher salaries. The results of the research show that both job satisfaction and salaries are important issues for civil engineering professionals that are currently in the industry. In addition, a small percentage indicated their willingness to leave the country due to the high crime rate, safety for their family and high salaries being offered abroad. - / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2007.

With a considerable number of built environment projects not being completed successfully, this study was undertaken to investigate how effectively consulting engineering firms are applying project management principles in the way they manage projects. This was achieved by measuring the project management maturity levels of consulting engineering firms. Maturity levels were measured for each of the ten knowledge areas of the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge to determine areas where consulting engineering firms perform below expectation and as a result determine probable causes of project failures. The maturity of the firm was then calculated as the average of the maturity for the knowledge areas. The study found that consulting engineering firms have higher levels of project management maturity than the average for the construction and civil engineering sector. Apart from risk and procurement management, all the other knowledge areas have higher maturity levels than the corresponding construction and civil engineering knowledge areas. Although the overall maturity results indicate that the larger firms are more mature in their project management practices than the smaller firms, the individual knowledge areas are inconsistent. The study reveals that consulting engineering firms are weakest in the risk management, human resources and stakeholder management knowledge areas. There is limited literature available on the status of project management, project management methodologies, and performance of consulting projects in the engineering environment (Labuschagne & Steyn, 2010:70). There is need for future studies to establish a methodology developed specifically for the Consulting Engineering Firms in line with what Labuschagne & Steyn (2010) started and a Project Management Maturity Model specific to the Consulting Engineering Industry.

A project report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering / The rapid advances in technology and the greater complexity of projects generate an ever-changing environment within which the civil engineering consulting firms have to survive and grow. This changing environment increases the necessity both for greater specialisation_ (differentiation) and for. tighter co-ordination (integration). Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019

Transformation of the Construction Sector is part of a wider transformation of the social and economic environment of South Africa. Publication of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003, Act Number 53 of 2003 (BBBEE) in January 2004, initiated the next phase in transformation (SAACE, 2004b, p1), which required the development and publication of sector specific Transformation Charters. / Thesis (M.B.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

A persistent theme over the past year in public discussion has been the state of skills in the South African economy and society (DoL, 2003:1). The DoL (2005:55) further states that the issue of "scarce skills" has become a key government priority. It is now generally accepted that skills shortages in key occupational areas are hindering future economic growth (DoL, 2005:55). Within the civil engineering industry in South Africa recent studies have found that there has been a slow decline in the number of civil engineering professionals since the seventies and early eighties; all sectors in the industry have reported staff shortages, particularly of experienced midcareer professionals; staff utilisation rates are over 90% on average and in excess of 100% in many firms and there is a critical shortage of experienced civil professionals responsible for production work (Lawless, 2005 and SAACE, 2005). Some of the reasons cited for the skills shortages and skills gaps include poor quality of both secondary and tertiary education, inadequate training provided by employers, the overall unattractiveness of civil engineering due to relatively lower salaries being paid as compared to other professions and working conditions and emigration (for various reasons). The primary aim of the study was to investigate the impact skills shortages have had on client satisfaction within Stewart Scott International (SSI), a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy firm, in KwaZulu-Natal. Thereafter, from the findings of the research, identify specific areas of dissatisfaction ( from SSI's clients' perspective) and develop short to medium term strategies to better manage the situation, it being noted that addressing the root causes of skills shortages and skills gaps requires long term interventions. The research also sought to assess from SSI's clients' whether they believed any decline in their satisfaction levels was as a result of skills shortages in the industry. The data collection instrument used in the study was a structured questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent to clients with whom SSI had been doing business with for at least five years. The study found three areas of concern in SSI's quality of service (which clients' believed were as a result of skills shortages), viz SSI's approach to work, SSI's creativity in proposed solutions and SSI's approach in dealing with problems in relationships with clients. The findings of the research are similar to the findings of the NACI ( 2003) in SA and Mills and Treagust (2003) in Australia. The study further found empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that the levels of skills and levels of client satisfaction are related. The research found that: • There has been a decline in SSI's approach to work • There has been a decline in SSI's creativity in proposed solutions • There has been a decline in the manner and time frames SSI deals with problems in relationships The following are recommended: • More efficient use of resources (short-term) • Coaching and training initiatives be reviewed and formalised (short-term) • Develop a new skills management specification (medium-term) in / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

There will always be a need for consulting engineering services in industry. In the engineering consulting fraternity, employees are the key valuable assets and this study addresses how the professional employees’ skills can be managed and structured in such a manner that they contribute efficiently to the daily operation of the consulting engineering firms. The core business of the consulting engineering firms is to sell or offer engineering or technical solutions to their clients and this can be successfully recognised by integrating the firm’s different engineering disciplines into projects teams that are able to implement specific projects allocated to them. Leaders in these teams are expected to have proficiency to identify individuals’ skills and talents that can be incorporated into a specific project team. At a strategic level, firms’ mangers should consider developing skills development plans that takes into consideration a combination of academic training, professional training and practical employee training. As soon as a skills development plan is in place, it is easier for it to be implemented at the operational level under the supervision of team leaders who are responsible for the continuing professional development of individual team members. The aim of this study was to determine the various business and technological strategies applied by consulting engineering firms while tendering and competing for project work in the country. The consulting engineering industry is highly competitive; managers of these firms must be properly equipped with both technical and management skills in order that they may survive in this industry. A probability sample of 44 engineering consultants was drawn from consulting engineers in two areas of South Africa, namely, North West Province and Eastern Cape Province, which have a total of 140 consultants. 22% of the respondents offered electrical engineering services, followed by the civil engineering services that form 16.7% of the respondents. The structural and mechanical engineering followed at 13.9% and 11.1% respectively. Chemical engineering and architecture were both at 5.6%. Some of the findings of this study were that managers of the consulting engineering firms must be equipped with communication competencies as well as emotional intelligence and self-management competencies, because, although consultants are highly technically skilled, they lack business and human skills. Part of the recommendations are that there is a need for the consulting engineering firm to upload a succinct synopsis of their services on their company websites, which will help promote the value of their services to their clients. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

M.Phil. / Three test and certification bodies in the explosion prevention field currently exist in South Africa. One of these bodies was started in 2003 and faced a significant number of challenges in competition with the two other wellestablished bodies / institutions. This dissertation covers some of the internal and external challenges especially with respect to strategic marketing in a small and specialized industrial market, but also in the global market. The dissertation is based on the basic requirements, analysis and implementation of a marketing strategy and marketing plan, covering both the theoretical aspects and the specific challenges as experienced by the body in the case study. Market research, market segmentation, industry analysis, competitive analysis, aspects of industrial marketing and SWOT Analysis are topics included in the development of the strategic and marketing plan for the business in the case study.