The high demand occupations in South Africa shows a dramatic skills shortage in certain industries and in a Country like South Africa, to have a severe shortage in every aspect of engineering is quite simply a tragedy and lost opportunities for so many South Africans.
South Africa is growing, our infrastructure is sorely lacking and the people that get infrastructure done are engineers! Having said that, every project, no matter how big or how small has a supply chain that needs managing, so where we have had to import engineering skills from outside South Africa we are also needing to import supply chain skills.
Imagine for a moment a massive roads project or a pipeline project.
For the projects to run smoothly, the right skills need to be in place at the right place, then the right materials need to be on site at the right time to ensure that the skills on site are utilized efficiently, then someone needs to ensure that the project timeline is on track and so on.
The people that manage these various areas are all supply chain managers and logisticians. Logistics and supply chain management skills are in short supply in South Africa and there are many accredited courses to set you on a trajectory to both a successful career and incredible job satisfaction. Every aspect of the supply chain, from raw materials handling, to warehouse management and logistics are needed in Industry today, so much so that the South African Government have identified supply chain management as a critical skill and are offering student financial aid to qualifying students.
If you have children and are wondering how to direct them for a successful future, there is one skill that every single potential entrant into either engineering or supply chain management needs when they leave school, Mathematics and/or Science but at the very least Mathematics.
As a parent, do whatever it takes to encourage your children to excel at mathematics. Too many of our youth today are in hand out mode, where they feel entitled to a job, a home, a life! If they want success, they will need to make a difference and to stand out from the crowd and luckily for them, maths and science are the easiest way to do this.
The courses identified as those of critical importance are:
- BBA in logistics and supply chain management
- Diploma in logistics and supply chain management
- Higher certificate in logistics management
- National certificate in Road Transport
- National certificate in freight handling
- National certificate in wholesale and retail operations
- National certificate in wholesale and retail distribution