Graduates can replenish SA’s dry water sector

As institutions of higher learning contend with floods of students eager to study in the wake of the announcement of fee-free education by President Jacob Zuma, a question that begs serious consideration is that of the career choices the prospective students are making.

Our youth are hungry for education and are keen to change their lives for the better. But the reality for many unemployed graduates shows that acquiring an education does not necessarily translate into them securing employment.

Lack of skills in the very important areas of the sciences and engineering is slowly pushing South Africa to the brink. To get the country on the right economic trajectory we need to fill the gaping hole of skills shortages in these and other areas.

South Africa desperately needs to produce an army of graduates with skills that will enable it to change its growth path for the better. The catalyst and the backbone for this envisaged growth remains water. However much we meticulously make plans for our prosperity, the truth is that without water we will never move an inch. Water is the beall and end-all for job creation and the economic transformation agenda of the country.

It is for this reason that the department of water and sanitation is assisting young people to pursue careers in the water sector through a variety of programmes.

It is our hope that the youth flooding institutions of higher learning will consider the various careers available in the water sector. As other sectors are growing, the water sector’s skills base is decreasing and is in dire need of replenishment. The many prospective students are the only hope for our dream of building a nation with an abundance of skills that are relevant to the development of the country.