Skills Development in the Municipal Environment

The Association of Municipal Electricity Undertakings (Southern Africa)

Skills Development in the Municipal

Environment

Michael J Rhode11 September 2012

Portfolio Committee on Energy


Introduction to the AMEU

• Established 1915• Voluntary association of municipalities that

operate electricity services• Councillor and Engineer representatives• Technical support to SALGA• Operates an Education & Training Committee


Headlines • “municipalities in state of paralysis”

• “South Africa is facing a chronic skills shortage “• “Electrical networks will fall over in next three years”• “Average of 50% vacancy rate in electricity departments”• “Average of 2252 engineers graduated annually between 1998

and 2010. China, India and the UK delivers 1.9M, 764K and 11K respectively”

• “Reduction in government employed engineers from 40% in 1990 to 15% today”

• “Average age of electrical engineers in Local Government is 58 years”


Municipal skills development • Challenges

– Shortage of skilled staff• Biggest impediment to adequate service delivery –average

vacancy rate of 50% of established posts (source - EDIH)• Lack of suitably qualified instructors to train the learners• Municipal distributors should have more flexibility in order to

attract, employ and retain skilled staff– Training facilities

• Very few training facilities remain within the authority and responsibility of municipalities and physical resources (buildings) are limited

• For some, the training function has been centralised within the municipality and electricity training facilities closed

• For most, budgets and facilities have been constrained with a consequent reduction in training numbers


Municipal skills development • Challenges (continued)

– Exodus of skills (Aging workforce)• Capacity for the transfer of skills to new recruits and trainees has

been severely curtailed– Training funding (training is not a priority)

• While some funding for training may be provided, often the training cannot take place due to the lack of subsistence and travel funding

• Approval processes for training are often lengthy and complicated– Staff Development

• No formal staff development in many municipal distributors, despite Workplace Skills Plan being completed annually

– Remuneration (lack of retention policies)• Competitors including Eskom attract the critical skills in the market

because of their competitive packages


Municipal skills development • Challenges (continued)

– Slow, bureaucratic municipal HR processes• Capacity for the transfer of skills to new recruits and trainees has

been severely curtailed– SETA responses

• However of late the situation seems to have improved– In Service Training

• Remuneration unattractive– Cogta initiatives

• Takes little cognisance of Electrical Engineering Sector• Minimum standards for engineers seen as being unnecessary

– Government Certificate of Competency• Limited institutions


Municipal electricity sector• Training

– Artisan training• Traditional Artisan training• Learnerships• Modular training

– Subject specific training (ad hoc)• Operating Regulations for High Voltage Systems (ORHVS)• Plant operating,• Safety, etc.

• Funding– Internal funding– Western Cape Municipalities from Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG)– National Treasury funding (George Municipality)

• Department of Energy had launched a placement programme!


Municipal electricity sector (cont)

• City of Cape Town – In-house training school– Accelerated apprenticeship program

• 130 electrical artisans since 2006/7 + further 70 by February 2013• qualified 61 internal staff as electricians through its learnership

program in the same period• 90 apprentices from other disciplines

– Learner technician program (strategic & specialised areas)• 18 qualified to date• Further 8 by March 2013

– Internal bursary program• Mainly technical but moving to other areas of business


Municipal electricity sector (cont)

• City of Cape Town (cont)– Training material

• involved with LGSETA at a national level with various initiatives to share their expertise and experience

• Developed own learning materials to support their training as the existing material (modules from SETA) is archaic and out-dated

– Mentoring • Graduate Intern Program (GIP) which mentors candidate

engineers towards ECSA registration. • Currently have 1 person in this program and it is envisaged that

their external bursary holders (currently have 3) will automatically progress into this program towards ECSA registration.


Municipal electricity sector (cont)• Buffalo City Metro Municipality – No training school for electricity related trades and

professions– Infrastructure Development Grant Programme due to be

started in January 2013 for:• Engineers (BSc/B Tech leading to professional registration) - 1 • Certificated Engineers (GCC - Factories) -1• Technicians/technologists - 4• Artisans (Electricians/ other trades) -10

– in-service training to students who have completed their S4 qualification and need practical training for graduation• Since 2003 BCMM have trained more than 100 students with

average of 10 students every financial year


Municipal electricity sector (cont)• Buffalo City Metro Municipality (cont)– Training provided for employees on Learnership training

level 2 (Artisan Assistant) – Operate a formal mentorship programme


Municipal electricity sector (cont)• Mangaung Municipality (Centlec)– Training school - Centlec Training- and Development

Centre– Training programs provided and number of learners

trainedType of Training (Enrollments) 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012

Engineers (BSc/B Tech leading to professional registration) 4 5 5

Technicians / Technologists 28 24 0

Artisans (Electricians) 5 1 16

Apprentice Electrician Phase 1 48 9 0

Apprentice Electrician Phase 2 10 12 22

Skills Development 137 142 175

TOTAL PER FINANCIAL YEAR 232 193 218


Municipal electricity sector (cont)• George Municipality (cont)– Received R12M from Infrastructure Development

Programme over 3 years• Employ Interns• Train 10 Artisans per year• Subject specific training


AMEU programmes • Engineering bursaries

– Historical • The AMEU provide a limited number of bursaries for many years but

discontinued the practice due to the administrative complexities• This practice was replaced by making an annual contribution to each

of the main stream universities in South Africa for the purposes of contributing to University administered bursaries with no contractual obligations for the student

– Current programme• Access to LGSETA funding has allowed the AMEU to fund qualifying

municipal candidates to undertake training for the Government Certificate of Competency (GCC), a crucial requirement in many municipalities

• The funding covers training costs only for attendance at the Eskom GCC School and no S & T costs

• 12 candidates annually - 6 per semester


Mentorship programmes • AMEU

– The AMEU does not operate mentorship programmes due to its limited structure and resources but a number of individual municipalities undertake these programmes


Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA)

• We welcome the programme and hope that in implementation it takes cognisance of lessons learned through Engineers Now Ensuring Rollout by Growing Young Skills (ENERGYS)


PC on EnergyParliament – 11 September 2012

Skills Development in the Municipal Environment

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