The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) will host its inaugural Fundraising Golf Day on Wednesday, 26 March 2025 at the Country Golf Club, Woodmead, Johannesburg. The ECSA Fundraising Golf Day is the first of its kind by the engineering regulator and aims to raise funds to help stop the bleeding engineering skills pipeline.
Why ECSA is hosting a Fundraising Golf Day
Funds raised will support women in engineering programmes, establish a fund to assist engineering students facing financial constraints, and support ongoing initiatives to increase the uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. ECSA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bridget Ssamula, noted that each year the engineering fraternity faces a bleed in the skills pipeline, attributable to factors including financial constraints, female engineers leaving the profession and the low uptake of STEM subjects.
The scale of the skills challenge
These factors are supported by research findings documented in an article titled Universities Face Decline In Engineering Graduates
by Ryan Cloete, which notes that South African universities have recorded a decline in the number of engineering graduates. According to Cloete, of the 208,299 students who entered university for the first time during the 2023 academic year, 69,000 enrolments were within scarce skills areas, some of them in STEM qualifications. Statistics on Trading Economics reveal that in 2018 approximately only 8% of all tertiary graduates in the country completed programmes in engineering, manufacturing and construction.
Further research points to financial pressure on students. A case study conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal revealed that 49% of students who left the engineering faculty cited financial reasons as a primary factor contributing to attrition in engineering programmes.
This is particularly alarming since STEM degrees hold significant impact in addressing global challenges, fostering economic growth as well as leading in innovation. — Dr Bridget Ssamula, ECSA CEO
An invitation to partner with ECSA
ECSA says it seeks to address the gap through strategic partnerships with government, academia, the private sector and industry by raising funds to help stop the bleeding skills pipeline.
The Fundraising Golf Day is therefore more than just an event, but it provides an opportunity for stakeholders to partner with the Council to stop the bleeding skills pipeline, increase the number of engineering practitioners who can professionally register with the Council and contribute to the overall public health and safety. — Dr Bridget Ssamula, ECSA CEO
Original Press Release
About ECSA
The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) is the statutory body established under the Engineering Profession Act, 46 of 2000, mandated to regulate the engineering profession in South Africa. ECSA is responsible for the accreditation of engineering programmes, the registration of engineering practitioners, and upholding professional and ethical standards across the profession.
Issued by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).
ECSA Media Contact
Sybil Dlamini, Manager: Marketing and Communication
Email: sybil@ecsa.co.za | Tel: 073 623 8275
Website: www.ecsa.co.za
This article is based on an official ECSA press release. Read the original statement.
