Exporting of professional services the answer for SA consulting engineers

28 March 2001 News

In order to curb the loss of professional capacity in the consulting engineering environment as a result of a shortage of work in South Africa, the South African Association of Consulting Engineers (SAACE) is putting considerable effort into the exporting of services to countries experiencing a shortage of skills. The SAACE is reporting some success in this initiative, which forms part of a broader strategic thrust towards the establishment of an Export Council.

Says SAACE Executive Director, Graham Pirie: "A large number of the world's engineering associations are experiencing high levels of work among their members, but are in many cases experiencing a shortage of professional and related engineering skills.

"The situation in South Africa is very different and we are trying to match the under-capacity of international companies with our need for work but in a manner which curbs immigration and relocation. The answer lies in the advent of electronic technology, which allows our engineers to carry out most of the work here."

At present the SAACE is working with its Irish counterpart and reports that 70 of its member firms have expressed an interest in working with Irish firms and 20 Irish firms are interested in using the skills of South African firms.

Pirie says that the SAACE is committed to assisting its members to export their consulting services internationally in addition to ensuring that its member firms are globally competitive. "In a declining economy and with the amount of available work shrinking, you have to be globally competitive whether you stay at home or not," said Pirie.

SAACE, (011) 463 2022.

Further reading:

SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.

Read more...

---

SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.

Read more...

---

Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.

Read more...

---

The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.

Read more...

---

Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.

Read more...

---

New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.

Read more...

---

DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.

Read more...

---

Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.

Read more...

---

Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.

Read more...

---

From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.

Read more...

---