The City of Cape Towns R43 billion infrastructure investment is expected to generate an estimated 135 000 jobs, reports Cape {town} Etc .
This week, the City met with National Treasury and representatives from other municipalities at the Cape Town International Convention Centre to discuss and share insights at this years Infrastructure Skills Development Grant engineering alignment workshop.
Now in the 2014/15 fiscal year, the City of Cape Town has participated in the National Treasury-funded Infrastructure Skills Development Grant (ISDG) Programme, with an initial grant allocation of R1 million, which has now increased to R12 million for the fiscal year 2024/25.
'Since the inception of the programme graduates have been declared competent in their fields and were absorbed into permanent positions within the City. The main objective of the programme is to build a talent pool of scarce skills within municipalities across the country by training and mentoring graduates, and to assist them with registering with their relevant statutory professional councils,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Theresa Uys. The ISDG course in the City of Cape Town has directly benefitted 125 graduates. These graduates come from a variety of disciplines, including Civil Engineering, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Biotechnology, Chemical Science, Environmental Science, and Quantity Surveying.
'The City is currently experiencing a shortage of professional engineers to support its main goal of infrastructure development. Many engineers within the City are reaching retirement age. The City needs to plan ahead to mitigate any impact this may have on future service delivery. As cities expand, their industries and people need to be supported by adequate services, from electricity, water and other amenities to additional services that aid modern development beyond the basics,' added Uys. 'Over the next three years, the City intends to invest R43 billion in infrastructure at a rate far outpacing any other metro. These infrastructure investments will create an estimated 135 000 jobs over the next three years,' said the City's Executive Director for Future Planning and Resilience, Gareth Morgan during the opening keynote address of the ISDG workshop on Wednesday. 'The ISDG plays a crucial role in supporting these efforts. By funding a stream of built environment graduates, the ISDG enables these young professionals to enter the City and be mentored towards professional registration,' added Morgan.
