City Power puts students in engineering to work

CITY Power has employed 24 electrical engineering students with the goal of producing certified engineers over the next three years.

Managing director Sicelo Xulu said the utility had heeded the call from the Treasury to contribute to improving work experience skills for many unemployed youth.

“The response we received from the advert was overwhelming. Almost 200 qualified engineers came to our head office to apply. It was disheartening to see how many of our young people are sitting at home with degrees, unable to find work.

“Unfortunately, we could only take 24 learners this cycle. We need to find a way to incorporate the remaining qualified applicants and we challenge other utilities and the private sector to consider taking graduates we could not employ,” he said.

The provision of this on-thejob training will not only benefit students and address the shortages of work-ready skills, but will also benefit the utility as it will respond quicker to service disruptions.

The government is making a concerted effort to professionalise the engineering field. The utility has partnered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) on a joint initiative, Road to Recruitment.

“There are not enough professional engineers. This initiative is not just good for City Power or ECSA but will raise the competency levels of engineers. We need other energy utilities to join the cause,” said Xulu.

The absence of professional engineers is what drove ECSA and the Treasury to pledge allegiance to City Power in rectifying this shortfall.