South Africa is the second largest economy in Africa and remains rich with promise. Having been admitted to the BRIC group of countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2011, known as BRICS, this confirms South Africa’s trajectory to continued growth as a nation.

Although the country currently realises massive infrastructure programmes, the qualification of engineering professionals in the country is still unsatisfactory. According to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), South Africa only saw 16 129 engineers register in 2012, with most of these engineers operating in the civil, electrical and mechanical fields. Numbers of registered engineers in fields such as industrial and electronics, materials, mineral, electro-mechanical and computer engineering are still very low.

ECSA has been in existence for over 40 years, with the main objective of regulating the engineering in South Africa. Registration with ECSA is essential and currently registrations transcend over 40 000.

The registration system has been established by law to ensure competence and accountability. Engineers are indispensable in the delivery of infrastructure, goods and services. Although, since engineering involves exploiting and controlling natural forces and complex systems and processes, attainment of solutions is accompanied by risks, thus mitigation of these risks requires competent and accountable engineering professionals.

“Registration provides public recognition that the registered person has, through education, training and experience, demonstrated competence at an established level,” indicates Cyril Gamede, president of ECSA. ECSA’s registration thus acts as an indicator of an engineer’s competence as it publicly recognises their education and experience. By registering with the body, the professional is automatically bound by a code of conduct.

Moreover, registration with ECSA and membership of a Voluntary Association (VA) such as South African Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE) are complementary. The VA promotes the interests of the discipline and its members and provides services such as continuing professional development. Different grades of membership – for example student, member and fellow – recognise the member’s career progression.