http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/C ... ?id=137177
Eskom, Transnet "need more skilled staff"
Minister says Eskom and Transnet need more scientists and engineers over the next five years.
EDWARD WEST
Published: 2011/03/15 06:37:50 AM
ESKOM and its suppliers will need an additional 3 000 scientists and engineers and 24 000 artisans over the next five years should SA embark on an aggressive energy infrastructure build programme that includes a nuclear power plant.
Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said at a Durban Invest function yesterday these figures excluded highly specialised skills that would be required by technology transfers associated with nuclear design and manufacturing.
The government has made job creation a focus of its economic growth strategy this year, as only modest gains have been made since 1994 in terms of transforming economic ownership and management, along with scaling up skills development and employment creation. Many companies also struggle to find skilled staff.
"Closing this gap will require a collaborative effort between Eskom and its key local and international suppliers," Mr Gigaba said.
The calculation of the shortfall of skilled staff for Eskom also excluded additional skills that would be required by the private sector to manage investments that would be unlocked through providing additional electricity to the economy.
And "if we add the impact of an accelerated rail and port investment programme, the shortfall becomes more challenging", he said.
Transnet needed to increase the number of engineers employed by 200% and the number of technicians by 40% "as soon as possible". About 30% of Eskom’s artisans, engineers and technicians were approaching retirement, Mr Gigaba said.
In terms of the existing infrastructure programme at Eskom, 160 000 people were indirectly or directly employed in the construction of the parastatal’s Medupi and Kusile coal power stations and the pumped hydro storage scheme.
The building of the plants consumed 43% of relevant university graduates, such as engineers and project managers, and 48% of SA’s annual output of artisans.
Eskom invested R780m in training last year. It had 24 training centres, and 24 on-the-job training sites. There were 4075 engineers undergoing training at Eskom.
Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said Transnet would invest R110,6bn over five years, with R63,7bn going towards Transnet Freight Rail, which "has not performed as well as it should". About R1,6bn would be spent on Transnet Rail Engineering, R23,2bn at Transnet National Ports Authority, R5bn on Transnet National Port Terminals and R15,1bn on Transnet’s fuel pipeline service from Durban to Gauteng.
He said the new pipeline being built between Durban and Johannesburg would put Transnet in a position to be an adviser and developer of such projects elsewhere in the world.
"We’ve made our mistakes, paid our school fees … now we are ready to advise other people," he said.
Eskom CEO Brian Dames said the utility would drive the goals of the New Growth Path economic development strategy in the energy sector through more than the R300bn investment in large power stations.
Every Eskom contract being signed would ensure there was 50% local content, and more than 60% "of everything we purchase in the new build programme will come from SA," Dames said.
He said the infrastructure programme was providing a "significant base" for expansion into southern Africa, as SA could not be an "island of prosperity" in the region.
Mr Gigaba said historically, investments were planned around what state-owned entities’ balance sheets could afford, which had been restrictive. "We need to look beyond our balance sheets, important thought they are, to what our economy really needs to meet our growth aspirations," he said.
