Civil Engineering August 2021 | Vol 29 No 7

6 August 2021 Civil Engineering CEO’ s Corner T he current pandemic of unemployment remains stubborn because of the South African economy’s lacklustre growth trajectory over the last decade. In addition, both blue- and white-collar jobs in some industries have already reached obsolescence as we transition towards the era of automation in a digital economy. South Africa already experiences high levels of unemploy- ment among low-skilled workers, while only 2.1% of gradu- ates are unemployed. The most recent statistics reveal that unemployment is above 30%, or more than 40% if we include discouraged job seekers. These figures are expected to rise as more jobs are lost because of the lockdowns necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. My last article indicated that 63% of our youth is unemployed. These numbers are staggering and in need of urgent attention. Calls for focus on employment appear to have fallen on deaf ears for more than a decade, necessitating that unemployment becomes analogous to the Covid-19 pandemic. Automation within the digital economy as a construct of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is making changes to many aspects of our lives. It is changing the way we live, work, and interact with each other. Such automation poses both an opportunity and a threat to society. Youth and people gener- ally not equipped with technological and interpersonal skills are becoming increasingly vulnerable. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicted that 4IR will create more job losses but will equally create new occupations in areas such as engineering, computer science, and data science. The term 4IR was coined by Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder of the WEF, as an era and epoch characterised by the confluence of cyber, biological, and physical technologies. This era is catalysed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), among others. CIVIL ENGINEERING AND 4IR Research done in 2006 by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) revealed that there is a skills shortage in South Africa and that “79 of South Africa’s 231 local municipalities did not have a single engineer, technologist or technician at their disposal”. Over time the situation has worsened. It is therefore critical that the public sector urgently employs a merit-based recruitment approach. SAICE is able to broker relationship building between the public and private sectors to support the professionalising of the public service while assisting with unemployment of engineers. If there is a will, I am sure there will be a way to collaborate, as we are doing so in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO UNEMPLOYMENT PANDEMIC It is necessary to prepare, through education, for the changes caused by 4IR technologies and the coronavirus pandemic. In his 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted that leveraging 4IR technologies is critical to im- proving education and health, fostering economic transformation and job creation, and developing a capable, ethical, and develop- mental state. There must be mass skills development to ensure that the inequities and inequalities of our society are reduced by levelling the playing field so that technology does not become a discriminatory barrier. All professionals across the board, including civil engineers, must be prepared to reskill and upskill as a commitment to lifelong learning. If we don’t get this right, we risk compounding current problems. This has become a higher priority since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to ensure sustainability and that business is geared for growth – skills may not be as plentiful as one might think. Skills such as effective leadership and people management, critical thinking and decision South Africa’s unemployment pandemic – A world of possibility For this month’s article, SAICE’s CEO Vishaal Lutchman has joined forces with Mafule Moswane to discuss possible approaches to the unemployment crisis. It is necessary to prepare, through education, for the changes caused by 4IR technologies and the coronavirus pandemic. In his 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted that leveraging 4IR technologies is critical to improving education and health, fostering economic transformation and job creation, and developing a capable, ethical, and developmental state.