Civil Engineering October 2022 | Vol 30 No 9

42 October 2022 Civil Engineering teaching them how to prime themselves for the workplace and differentiate themselves from other applicants. “You have to realise that once you enter the workspace you are now in competition mode. You have to work a little bit harder and smarter to secure a role.” Anri argues that programmes should be developed for young graduates to better equip them for the working environment after university. These programmes could be presented by universities, the govern- ment or even companies themselves. “If we all work together and listen to each other’s needs perhaps we can start to fill the gap between graduating and finding employment,” she says. ADVICE FOR STUDENTS Vishaal cautions students and graduates against falling prey to a victim mentality. “Public sector has a greater emphasis on social upliftment than the private sector which seeks to look for sustainable share- holder value. Industry is not there to look out for students and to nurture them,” he says, adding that young engineers need to be proactive, adopt the right attitude and find ways to differentiate themselves. Tom McKune, SAICE Head of Training, explains that present day students should have a competitive edge over students from five or more years ago in that the new Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) not only requires students to pass (i.e. the knowledge components), but also to dem- onstrate that they have met the required graduate attribute competencies. He is however concerned that these graduate at- tributes are seen as an administrative tick box exercise by universities and are not really being used to test what the students’ skills are and what they can do. Vishaal adds, “Marks are not the number one criterion for choosing a person; it is the right attitude. It is the vision that they have to align with the or- ganisation’s strategy to grow their careers aggressively and in the process grow the business.” This mindset requires under- standing how business works, and the best way to understand how business works is to connect with people in business. “The best way to do it easily and for free is at SAICE. SAICE connects industry with students, because the employers of those students are part of SAICE,” he says. Attending the events and webinars that SAICE offers will not only help indi- viduals to connect with industry players and employers, but also helps develop a frame of reference around industry- related issues. Shilpi agrees that students should join SAICE’s student chapters and attend the functions they offer. “SAICE gives students free membership, which is pretty useful to get exposure to the industry,” she says. Tom goes on to say that the SAICE Academy, together with the SAICE Support our Student Growing Forward champion, arranges regular student we- binars in which industry speakers present current projects to students to help them better connect what they are being taught with how that theory is applied in prac- tice. He goes on to say that despite SAICE having close to 5 000 student members, these sessions only attract between 100 and 300 students. Vishaal stresses that students need to actively participate in order to benefit and raise their profiles within the profession. “What you put in is what you get out.” Another important tool is to ef- fectively leverage social media. Students should follow the organisations they would like to work for – particularly through LinkedIn where a lot of recruit- ment takes place – and engage with those entities. “Become as close as to those entities as you can, so that once the op- portunity arises you know so much about the organisation they will think that you work there already,” says Vishaal. “The standard methodology of applying for a job may apply to govern- ment, but government is no longer a supportive environment for growing one’s career from a technical point of view. Government used to be the biggest em- ployer of graduates, but that is no longer the case,” he said. Shilpi adds that presenting yourself well, being extremely professional and being aware of the client helps when applying for jobs. “Some employers ap- preciate project management skills, some prefer technical specialisation, some prefer an analytical person, some prefer a practical person. Students need to be very persistent, because even though they might get many rejections now, they will eventually get a job. They must keep trying,” she says. Tom says that students and gradu- ates also need to expand their horizons and look beyond where they live to seek opportunities. Having a valid passport is the first step towards ensuring that they are able to do that when that opportunity comes knocking. A MESSAGE FOR EMPLOYERS “For companies who do have vacancies for graduate engineers, do not exploit your graduates. But remember, graduates are cheaper than senior resources, so you can have more manpower for a lower cost. Graduates are also fast learners and tech savvy, which can be very useful for you. The investment you put into grads will ripple out and keep sustaining the industry as these graduates grow in the industry,” says Shilpi. Tom strongly believes that investing in today’s young professionals is an invest- ment in the future and in the country. “If we all work together, we can overcome most of the challenges being experienced so that when the economy does turn, there will be the capacity to deliver.” Ishana also has a message for em- ployers: “Take a chance on us. You may see us as a liability, but we can become one of your greatest investments!”  SAICE CONNECT To address its members’ needs as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the challenge of unemploy- ment, SAICE recently launched its inno- vative SAICE Connect portal which aims to assist SAICE members with access to employment opportunities. For employees, the portal allows members to upload their resumes for recruiters to view. It offers job seekers several employment options including vacation work, post-varsity work, part- time and full-time employment vacan- cies and contract opportunities. The SAICE Connect portal also includes the SAICE Mentorship Programme which focuses on final year engineering students and recently qualified engineers. The objective of the mentorship programme is to advise and motivate mentees. The programme is also open to SAICE members who want to become mentors. SAICE Connect is free for both mem- bers and recruiters, and can be accessed at www.saice.org.za/saice-connect .