Opportunity Issue 88 - Sept-Oct 2018

SKILLS
Sourcing
artisanal skills
How a Temporary Employment Service can bridge the gap
South Africa is well known for its
mining and oil and gas industries
that contribute to a large portion
of the world’s metals and minerals and
form a significant part of Sub-Saharan
Africa’s oil production. However, for a
country that contributes to these highly
technical and specialist industries, we
have a dearth of many of the artisanal
skills required within these industries.
Most notable is the shortage of
skilled, suitably qualified double
coded welders to be found within
our borders. Double coded welders
are qualified to work on more than
a single material type in adverse or
challenging conditions, such as underwater
or in confined spaces.
Typically, to cover the skills gap, South
African industries turn to feeder countries
to source these skills like Thailand,
India, Pakistan and the Philippines. This
negatively impacts our Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) figures, especially
when South Africa has the people and
industrial environment to potentially
become a feeder country, too.
The scarcity
At the recent launch of the Cyril
Ramaphosa Foundation Artisan
Programme, Sean Jones, Marketing
Director for the Artisan Training
Institute, said, “Skilled tradesmen are
highly sought after in our economy, and
yet every year we are forced to recruit
thousands of artisans from other countries
to fulfil this demand. We have over
600,000 unemployed graduates in South
Africa. We need to show young people
that learning a trade is a viable and
desirable alternative to university.”
There is a marked lack of education
around the opportunities available for
careers in welding. Despite it being
a relatively lucrative field and many
training institutes and technical colleges
offering training in this niche skill, not
many institutions take advantage of
school job fairs or fully advertise the
possibilities.
Becoming a double coded welder is a
very intensive process. Beyond rigorous
training in harsh environments, as with
any artisanal skill, it requires consistent
practice. However, double coded welding
is often project based, and in a specific
area where there are large requirements,
a project tends to only come
around a few times per year. For this
reason, many welders tend to move to
wherever the work is, neglecting a project
in one area in order to cover a new
project elsewhere.
The requirements to become a double
coded welder are also quite specialised.
To enter the field, people need to be able
to work in harsh, confined and often
solitary environments. They also need
to possess a level of ambidextrousness,
as the ability to weld with either hand
to reach awkward positions is necessary.
The fit
There is a large demand for double-coded
welders in South Africa, and this is a
gap that is well suited for Temporary
26 | www.opportunityonline.co.za