CESA SHINES ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Voluntary association Consulting Engineers South
Africa (Cesa) was one of the big winners at the 2019 International Federation
of Consulting Engineers (Fidic) Member Association Excellence Awards.

The awards recognise the achievements and successes
of the federation’s international members, as well as the work that members do.

The awards were presented in September during the
Fidic International Infrastructure Conference in Mexico City, Mexico. Cesa, as
a proud member of the federation, submitted entries in three of the five
categories and won merit awards in all three categories.

Cesa CEO Christopher Campbell tells Engineering News that
it is a huge achievement for the association, as it cements its place in the
international consulting engineering community.

Cesa also received a merit award in the category
for best diversity and inclusion initiative, which ties in with the
association’s transformation goals. Campbell notes that, while race is still an
issue in South Africa, Cesa would like to extend that idea to gender and
technology diversification and inclusivity.

The association also ensures that its offering
remains relevant to member companies.

The Cesa Young Professionals Council aims to
develop future leaders for the industry.

The association also has a one-year management
development programme – its flagship Business of Consulting Engineering
Programme – for consulting engineers, which aims to arm particularly young
professionals in the industry with the necessary soft skills that they will
require higher up at business level.

Cesa’s aspirations are in sync with those of South
Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP) which aims to eliminate poverty and
reduce inequality by 2030. The plan envisions South Africa’s realising these
goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy,
building capabilities and enhancing the capacity of the State, as well as
promoting leadership and partnerships in society.

“From a construction and consulting point of view,
the sentiment is currently rather bleak . . . The confidence levels that
companies in this sector have are at almost zero . . . With the demise of the
larger construction companies, it is a fight for survival among the small,
medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs),” says Campbell.

While there is a need for big-build projects, the
country currently has no local capacity to achieve that; however, the outlook
remains positive and the association is ready to work with government for the
benefit of the country, he adds.

Further, Campbell highlights that Cesa is assessing
the opportunities created by having multinational companies as part of its
member base. With the emphasis on growing SMMEs, the industry risks forgoing
the opportunity that is made possible by having multinational companies in
South Africa, he says.

“They have access to best-practice technology that
can be used to maximise local infrastructure designs. Local practitioners could
also be temporarily deployed to large projects outside the country to get
exposure and, eventually, plough that experience back into South Africa in the
running of our large projects. We need to develop local expertise for large
projects.”

Meanwhile, Cesa embarked on a training programme with industry bodies throughout municipalities to educate companies on procurement standards and regulations. This has helped public officials to have a better appreciation of the value of the organisation, says Campbell.http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/cesa-shines-on-international-stage-2019-11-15