Lack of training opportunities in South African foundries and the impact on the number of engineering metallurgy graduates

Lack of in-service training in the field of engineering metallurgy at local foundries has had a negative impact on the number of graduates who are offered an opportunity to complete practical training and to graduate. This leads to shortage of skilled foundrymen and foundry-women who can take the industry forward and help South Africa compete globally. Universities and foundries need partnerships to establish ways in which foundry skills are taught to young technicians. To achieve this, a quantitative study was conducted and data were collected and analysed to investigate the participants' understanding of lack of in-service training and its effect on skills development in foundries. Expert review of the collected data was conducted to complete triangulation. Descriptive analysis was based on actual data collected from all foundries which were randomly selected. Using this information, three types of questions were adopted during interviews and document review. Frequency and percentage distribution graphs were employed to display the results for easy interpretation of trends. Based on the data collected and resultant analysis, three main factors were found to contribute 71% of the problem and recommendations were made based on these findings. These included financial support and budget, lack of government support and lack of training awareness.