A TWO-YEAR graduate programme, which will employ eight graduates, has been launched.
DRA, the global engineering firm, will hire people from each discipline: civil, mechanical, electrical and process engineering.
Louise Dercksen, DRA Group Human Resources manager, said they approached SA universities and a graduate recruitment agency. The two-year programme starts this year and finishes in 2019.
“Interested students had to send a short CV and their latest study results. They also had to go through an interview and a psychometric test.
“We didn’t look only at academic results. We’re looking for candidates who are keen to innovate, possess people skills and show potential in business attitudes – all-round students who can add value to our company and the industry as a whole.”
Dercksen said while the Engineering Council of South Africa had a five-year practical experience requirement, students can use the two-year graduate programme towards their five-year engineering council requirement.
According to last year’s Manpower Group’s annual talent shortage survey, engineers are ranked fourth out of the top 10 difficult positions that lack skills.
The survey goes on to say that the four top reasons why it is hard to fill positions are:
- A lack of applicants – 64%- A lack of hard skills or technical understanding – 19%- A lack of experience – 19%- A lack of soft skills or workplace experience – 11%.
