First engineering awards for ECSA held
JOBURG – This is the first of what will be an annual series of awards that seek to give due recognition to the individuals who have toiled the ground to make the Engineering Council and engineering profession what it is and seeks to achieve.
The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) hosted its first engineering awards at Emperors Palace on November 1.
Speaking at the event, the president of ECSA, Cyril Gamede, said it was the first awards the body held since its existence.
“This is the first of what will be an annual series of awards that seek to give due recognition to the individuals who have toiled the ground to make the Engineering Council and engineering profession what it is and seeks to achieve,” he said.
Also read: Emperors Palace celebrates its 15th birthday
ECSA’s public relation officer Mbalenhle Dlamini said the purpose of hosting the awards ceremony was to acknowledge the outstanding industry contribution shown through the years in the regulation of engineering.
“This means honouring individuals who have volunteered, working for ECSA in different roles as, but not limited to, assessors, moderators, evaluators or training facilitators. These are men and women in the engineering profession who have dedicated their time and expertise in furthering the skills development agenda for the greater good,” she said.
Over 300 people attended the event. The awards included:
Best Registration Professional Assessor Award
• Abimbola Olukunle
Best Registration Experience Reviewer Award
• Dumisani Mqadi
The Best Stakeholder Award
• South African National Roads Limited
“This stakeholder has been instrumental in the expansion of ECSA in relation to expanding our registration categories. The provided enthusiastic individuals who drove the process to get a new specified category for Civil Laboratory Technical Controllers (CLTC) established by drafting documents, and they workshopped the details with key stakeholders to finalise the necessary documentation required for the category. Today, ECSA is proud to have specified categories under its wings,” said Dlamini.
Also read: Emperors donates R300 000 to Cansa
ECSA also presented three recipients with the ECSA Pioneer Recognition Awards:
• The late Alec Hay, whose award was accepted by his family, was honoured for his service on the council as an observer from 2001-2005. He was the chairperson of the International Affairs Committee from 2005 until 2009 and project leader on the Strategic Advisory Committee from 2012 to 2016.
• The second winner, the late Du Toit Grobler, who fulfilled the following roles: “This outstanding individual continued professional development from 2012 until 2016. He was a council member of ECSA from 2001 to 2005 and was on the recommendation panel in 2015. With all the council and committee commitments, this individual made time to write a phenomenal book called, Decades of Engineering Excellence,” said Dlamini.
Also read: Jeppe Pipe Band performs at the Sounds of Celebration concert at Emperors Palace
• Philipus Erasmus was on the registration committee for lift machinery inspectors from 2012 to 2016, the registration committee for professional engineering technicians from 2012 to 2016 and on the recommendation panel in 2015.
