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Dear Rabie and Jandrie

We suggest you consider the following and base your decision on your career aspirations: 

• If you feel more inclined towards being responsible for the work of others in a plant or factory, then the GCC route is the most appropriate route to follow at this stage. This will require you to manage engineering activities and your remuneration will be proportional to the risk and the number of people for whom you are responsible.

• If you prefer a pure form of engineering, involving such work as diagnostics, design, evaluation and test work then consider the BTech route. You will be legally responsible for the viability of solutions to engineering problems. Professional development is offered by applying for registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). Please refer to http://www.ecsa.co.za/ for further details of this process.

If your BTech meets the subject and practical admission requirements for the GCC you may apply to the Commissioner for Examiners for permission to be examined for the relevant GCC (Factories or Mines; Mechanical or Electrical). See the following documents for details:

• Department of Labour: http://www.labour.gov.za/downloads/documents/useful-documents/occupational-health-and-safety/OHS_usefuldoc_A%20Copy%20of%20Information%20brochure%20GCC%20January%202007.doc

• Department of Minerals and Energy  http://www.dme.gov.za/pdfs/mhs/exams/engineers_rules_syllabi.pdf

We understand that the current “N” subjects being offered by FET Colleges will be phased out as follows:

• N3 and N4 last registration 2011.
• N5 last registration 2012
• N6 last registration 2013

Regarding the future existence of the Government Certificate of Competency, we suggest you read http://www.saqa.org.za/docs/events/q_africa07/presentations/hanrahan_h1.pdf page 9 for details. What we understand is that the GCC is likely to be replaced by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) with a Professional Certificated Engineer registration; however, it is likely to take a while.

In our opinion an MTech carries more academic weight than a GCC, whereas a GCC carries more legal responsibility.