With South Africa facing massive water problems, the country has an urgent need for highly skilled professionals in the water sector.
“As water resources become increasingly scarce, we need more effective administrative and political institutions for water planning, development and management,” says Dr Gerhard Backeberg, WRC Executive Manager: Water Utilisation in Agriculture. The Water Research Commission (WRC), which has recently been appointed as the implementing agent to facilitate the Empowerment Project on Water Resource Management for the Department of Water and Sanitation, has taken the lead in training professionals in the water sector to take on the increasing challenges facing the country, where it comes to water issues. The need for highly skilled professionals in the water sector ranges across the board, with an urgent demand for, among others, hydrologists, computer programmers, civil and hydrological engineers, economists, mathematicians, scientists, fitters and turners, boilermakers, plumbers and health workers. According to the Department of Water Affairs’ National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS) of 2013, the country is in dire need of professionals in the water sector. Then, it needed about 3000 engineers (at a 57% vacancy rate) and 7200 health and hygiene/environmental health practitioners. It also had vacancies for 23000 management staff and 4000 artisans and technicians.Additional Reading?
Request Free CopyRelated Articles
Jun 24, 2024
Greenpeace vs Corobrik
Corobrik, an industry leader in the production of clay bricks, got the go-ahead on its environmental plan approved by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to begin a mine near the Ritvlei Nature Reserve. In response, Greenpeace posted a...
Sep 18, 2024
Solving environmental law confusion: Lawyer Lizette van der Walt launches innovative app
Lizette van der Walt is a lawyer specialising in environmental law. In her 27 years of experience, she noticed a general confusion around environmental laws in South Africa and decided to help by creating the Enviro Legal app. This app is designed...
Jul 31, 2024
Precast concrete: a game-changer in water infrastructure
The real potential of precast concrete is yet to be fully harnessed in South Africa to significantly fast-track the construction of quality water infrastructure. However, with sound upfront planning of the execution of these construction projects,...