Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), which represents close to 600 member firms employing about 17 000 people, is this year celebrating 70 years of engineering excellence. CESA’s Platinum Jubilee marks the organisation’s enduring history in contributing to the representation and development of the all-important engineering sector in South Africa, and it has much to celebrate.
“Our 70th anniversary bears testament to the critical role we continue to play in the engineering sector. Since the organisation was established in 1952, it has become the apex organisation of the consulting engineering sector,” says Chris Campbell, CEO of CESA.
The past decade has been particularly eventful for South Africa and the industry. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the country and contributed to setting back a number of infrastructure development initiatives as well as the broader SA economy. “Within this constrained environment, we have played a critical role in supporting our members, the broader built environment and construction sector, and have contributed to the development of practitioners in the public and private sectors,” says Campbell.
“One of our strategic goals is to promote transformation in the sector. In South Africa there is a recognition of the need to develop local capacity and to address the backlogs in infrastructure resulting from the apartheid era,” Campbell continues. This has led to CESA’s focus on capacity development and, through its member base, it has developed the means for larger established companies to partner with newer SMME businesses, enabling them to participate in public sector projects. This has worked to address inequalities in access to business, as well as to support and capacitate these small businesses.
In full support of the government’s transformation targets, more than 70% of CESA member companies are more than 51% black-owned and of these, 3.1% are owned by black women. Two thirds of the member firms have a staff of 20 or less and 50% less than 10. Many of these emerging consulting engineering firms are either majority owned or wholly owned by black South Africans. The number of black-owned and -managed firms joining CESA has grown from 38% in 2009 to 55% in 2022.
In another milestone, celebrating 20 years of service excellence, CESA’s School of Consulting Engineering (SCE), offers more than 100 courses countrywide and has provided training to thousands of practitioners. The SCE courses go a long way towards ensuring skills development and the retention of skills in the consulting engineering industry.
CESA’s Young Professionals Forum (YPF), established in 2004, serves the needs of professional engineers, technologists and technicians in member firms, under the age of 35, providing a platform for young practitioners to network and grow. CESA’s YPF Imbizo celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
CESA became a member of International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in 1959 and of its regional grouping, the Group of African Member Associations (GAMA), in 1981, now FIDIC Africa. CESA took on the role of Secretariat to this regional body, representing the African continent, from 2018. The association has been recognised in two FIDIC Awards ceremonies, in 2019 and in 2021 for its achievements among FIDIC’s 106 country member associations.
For 50 years, the engineering excellence of CESA member firms has been celebrated at the annual CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards. This is a showcase of the member firms, their clients and their projects, which are world class in their standards of design and innovation and contribute to enhancing the quality of life for the public and communities served.
“We remain committed to promoting excellence in the consulting engineering industry on behalf of our members and stakeholders. We strive to develop and support the consulting engineering sector and to have a meaningful impact on the lives of all South Africans. We look forward to another 70 years of contributing to the sector and to our country as we continue in our quest to Protect Lives and Livelihoods,” Campbell says.
For more information visit: www.cesa.co.za
