Wessels was speaking at Denel's Young Achiever Awards 2013 on Friday, 25 January where a group of 60 engineering bursary students from universities across South Africa were honoured for achieving 150 distinctions between them in 2012. This event, which was held in Pretoria, is hosted by bursar sponsors Denel Dynamics; South Africa's home of rocket science and an engineering technology hub.
This highlight in the company's calendar, forms part of a group-wide initiative by the Denel Group to boost maths, science and engineering skills in the country. Latest research reveals declining percentages of pupils taking science in schools and a low maths skills base. There is also a shortage of skills in the engineering sector.
The Denel Group is an active participant in the nationwide drive to boost top-end skills, starting at foundation level with extra maths and science lessons, right up to postgraduate level where Denel Integrated Systems Solutions recently helped devise a course in radar technology at the University of Cape Town. This is apart from numerous bursaries and training programmes and an ongoing drive to encourage young learners to consider careers in the advanced technology field.
Denel Aviation regularly transports students from remote rural schools to air shows, thereby exposing them to a whole new world of aviation. Air shows are good opportunities to introduce young people to the exciting world of aviation. They have the opportunity to watch the aerial displays, but also to become more familiar with the technical and maintenance aspects of the industry.
In the quest to dispel the notion of the technical industry being a men's world, Denel Aviation also reaches out to young girls through the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day and has also partnered the Thusa-A-Girl-Child Project to help girls from disadvantaged areas with health essentials, such as sanitary towels, and coaching on reproductive health matters to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to attend and succeed in school.
Other efforts include:
"Young engineers can vastly influence job creation, and people with bright young minds have a drive to build things that work through experiment and product realisation - exactly the type of skills South Africa needs to nurture," said Wessels.