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Colby asks: Hi I am currently studying NCV level 2 mechanical engineering, my problem is that after completing level 4 and obtaining my trade test I don’t know which path will I take to improve my studies i was thinking of switching to N courses with N 6 I can be a technician and study towards a degree some day with NCV things are not clear what should I do should I carry on or change

Dear Colby: Thank you for your email. It is good to see you are thinking about your future. Once you have finished your NCV you have the following options to consider:

Qualify as an Artisan
Qualify as a Technician or Technologist
Work towards the General Certificate of Competence and registering as a Professional Certificated Engineer

Artisan

Once you have completed your NCV you will need to get an internship with a suitable company. Once you have enough experience you will be eligbile to write a trade test. We suggest you contact MERSETA as they do all the mechanical trade tests or if they don't they will be able to tell you who does. The following web page provides information about the Trade Test: (http://www.merseta.org.za/Operations/

LearningProgrammes/Apprenticeships/

TradeTestDocuments/tabid/168/Default.aspx)

Technician or Technologist

We suggest you contact a University of Technology to find out the admission requirements for a National Diploma in Engineering: Mechanical. According to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), the following professional registration categories are available (http://www.ecsa.co.za/index.asp?x=procedure#profcerteng):

With a National Diploma and appropriate work experience you may apply for registration as a Professional Engineering Technician
With a BTech degree and appropriate work experience you may apply for registration as a Professional Engineering Technologist
With a General Certificate of Competence and appropriate work experience you may apply for registration as a Professional Certificated Engineer

Professional Certificated Engineer

If you enjoy working in industry in production then we suggest you become and Artisan and then consider working towards registration as a professional certificated engineer through the General Certificate of Competence route. Please refer to the Engineering Council of South Africa's website for further details ( http://www.ecsa.co.za/).

The following GCC's are offered:

Certificate of Competency as Mechanical or Electromechanical Engineer for Mine and Works
Certificate of Competency as Mechanical or Electromechanical Engineer for Factories

We have been informed that FET Colleges registers students for the GCC examination with the Department of Labour; if you decide to go this route you will need to contact your FET College directly about age, experience and academic admission requirements.

We hope that this information has given you something to think about. We would also like to keep in contact with you to see how you are progressing; however, if you prefer that we do not contact you please let us know.

The Career Planet Team

Colette asks: My son is in Grade 8, please advise what subjects should he chose in order to study Civil Engineering?

Dear Colette Thank you for your question.

You son needs to take English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Orientation and any other two designated NSC subjects for example, engineering graphics and design, geography, information technology, business studies, etc

We would very much like to stay in contact with you to see how you are progressing. If however you do not want us to contact you please let us know. The Career Planet Team

Aiden asks: I would like to obtain a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, but my matric marks (2009) only allow for a diploma. I took maths, science, biology, English HL, Afrikaans SL and LO. What do you suggest I do to qualify for the bachelor degree?

Dear Aiden Well done on achieving your matric.

We suggest that you consider National Diploma (ND) Engineering: Mechanical at a University of Technology. On completion of your first year, if you obtained a minimum of 75% for all your subjects, you may be able to apply for admission for a BSc Mechanical Engineering and may even achieve some subject credits. We suggest you contact your closest University to find their specific admission requirements for this sort of transfer. If you choose to continue at a University of Technology your ND (3 years) will lead to a BTech Mechanical Engineering (1 year). Please explore the Engineering Council of South Africa's website (http://www.ecsa.co.za/) for information about professional registration with a ND or a BTech degree.

We wish you all the best for your studies and your chosen career path. We would also like to stay in contact with you to see how you are progressing. However, if you do not want us to contact you please let us know. The Career Planet Team

Estelle Asks: My son passed matric in 2008, but not good enough to qualify for degree entrance. He applied to do a Diploma in mechanical engineering and was conditionally accepted. They look at their numbers and informed him that they only took the best and the best filled up their numbers (no space for him). He did extremely well throughout his schooling career, but experienced some personal hick-ups in grade 11 and 12. I know that the two grades are the most important and it can make you or brake you, should you want to study further. He has the potential to pass, if he can only be given a chance. What can I do to help my son?

Dear Estelle There are a number of options for people in your son’s situation:

Complete a UNISA distance learning National Diploma: Engineering (Mechanical) http://brochure.unisa.ac.za/brochure/showprev.aspx?d=l_4_23&f=p_NDEMC and after work experience register as a professional engineering technician.
Enrol for the first year National Diploma: Engineering (Mechanical) with UNISA and then apply to the University of Technology again. If he has done well he may even get some subjects credited.
Once your son has completed a National Diploma he could go on to complete a BTech degree with a University of Technology and after practical experience apply for registration as a professional engineering technologist. By the way UNISA also offers BTech Degrees.
After completing a BTech degree your son may be able to apply for admission to a university conversion course and then complete a BSc engineering degree.
We suggest you also contact the UNISA Access and Matriculation Exemption Office at: 0861670411 or 0116709000; E-mail: ame@unisa.ac.za to see if there are any access courses you son may be able to enrol for to help him access a BSc degree. If this is possible then after completing the access courses your son may be able to apply for admission for a BSc degree with subject s like Mathematics, Physical Science and Information Technology or Computer Science. After completing this year your son may be able to apply for admission to a BSc Engineering degree at the university of his choice.

For more information on professional registration please consult the Engineering Council of South Africa’s web page: http://www.ecsa.co.za/

We hope this information will help you help your son help himself. Let us know how he gets on. Best wishes form The Career Planet Team

Njabulo Asks: I completed matric in 2009. My end year results where as follows: English home language 52%, Afrikaans first additional 55%, LO 62%, agricultural technology 43%, CAT 43%, geography 42%, mathematical literacy 57%. I would like to know with these results if I qualify for any engineering career; I wished for mechanical engineering. Logistics management was my 2nd option if it doesn’t work. Which good career will be the best, with lots of money?

Dear Njabulo South Africa needs young people trained in engineering principals, so we were really pleased to receive your email.

Based on your results we suggest you explore the National Certificate Vocational engineering studies qualifications offered by FET Colleges; specifically explore the National Certificate (Vocational) Engineering & Related Design Level 2 to 4, which focuses on mechanical engineering and motor mechanics.

Make use of the following Department of Education’s web page to identify a public FET college near to you: http://www.education.gov.za/dynamic/dynamic.aspx?pageid=326&dirid=83

Best wishes for your future career in mechanical engineering from The Career Planet Team

Rodney asks: I have got A+ and N+ technician in IT and I just want to know that is it possible I can combine with Electrical ENGEENIRING. Is there any relation? And what kind of post I’m going to apply for?

Dear Rodney We suggest you explore a National Diploma (ND) in Engineering (Electrical) at a University of Technology where you will be able to choose an area of specialisation.With your IT background maybe you should also explore the National Diploma Information Technology. We suggest you contact your nearest University of Technology to find out more information about the different electrical engineering streams and the associated admission requirements. Please consult our higher education web page to help you identify a suitable university of technology:http://www.careerplanet.co.za/_pages/places_to_study

We are including a link from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to give you some idea about what ND Engineering: Electrical course entails: http://info.cput.ac.za/prospectus_3/qual_new.php?q=180&f=6

We hope this information will give you a better understanding of your choice of career path. We wish you all the best in your future studies. We would like to stay in contact with you to see how you are progressing. However, if you do not want us to contact you please let us know. The Career Planet Team

Eric Asks: I did my matric in 2007 and did not get an exemption. I'm currently doing electrical engineering N5, I found out that I can apply for a new matriculation certificate with full exemption by combining my N5 and Grade 12 subjects. I would like to know if this exemption will get me into universities such as Wits, UCT, UP. etc and is it on par with the exemption one would get with high school HG subjects?

Dear Eric Thank you for your question regarding admission requirements for university study in the field of electrical engineering. Well done for taking your studies further and for exploring the possibility of being able to apply for an exemption.

For entry into a degree course a person needs a National Senior Certificate with certain designated subjects, or a Senior Certificate with a Matriculation Endorsement. The Matric Endorsement requirements may be found on the Higher Education South Africa (HESA) web page: http://www.hesa-enrol.ac.za/mb/mb/endorsement/210469.htm. The subject groups referred to are explained on the Matriculation Board web page: http://www.he-enrol.ac.za/mb/endsum.htm. These web pages should help you to see if you have met all the requirements.

The next step is to explore the admission requirements of the universities you are considering applying to. For example consult the:

UCT admission requirements webpage http://www.uct.ac.za/apply/criteria/eligibility/, specifically looking at the section for Senior Certificate applicants. Also use the Student Handbook for Engineering and the Built Environment web page to explore the specific requirements for the BSc Electrical engineering degree: http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/apply/handbooks/fac_ebe_2009.pdf
UP’s admission requirements for Engineering may be found on the following webpage: http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/33/EBIT.pdf while the Faculty Brochure may be explored on webpage http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/33/Engineering%20Built%20Environment%20&%20ITBrochure%20(final).pdf and Admission Requirements and General Information is documented on the following webpage: http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/33/A4%20Admission%20requirements%202010_lr_1.pdf

You could also explore applying to a University of Technology for a National Diploma (http://info.cput.ac.za/prospectus/CPUTAdmission2009.pdf); their admission requirements also recognise many N courses. Once you have completed a National Diploma you could try for a BTech degree. This qualification may be followed by a period of work as a technician / technologist and then as a Candidate Engineering Technician/Technologist together with writing the appropriate Certificates of Competence which will lead to eligibility to apply for professional registration. Consult the Engineering Council of South Africa’s (ECSA) website for details: http://www.ecsa.co.za/?x=procedure

You could also consider completing an N6 and following a path of work as an Artisan followed by a few years as a Candidate Certificated Engineer together with writing the appropriate Certificates of Competence which will lead to eligibility to apply for registration as a Professional Certificated Engineer. Consult the Engineering Council of South Africa’s website for further information on the process: http://www.ecsa.co.za/?x=procedure

We hope this information will help you to make an informed decision about your future career in engineering. The Career Planet Team

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