As co-leaders in the DBSA Young Professionals Programme, SAICE-PDP pioneered the development of major public sector mentoring programmes.
From 2008 to 2011, over 100 civil engineering and town planning graduates were trained towards professional registration in municipalities nationwide.
Candidates were assessed and training plans developed to accommodate both soft and technical skills development. Mentors were sourced nationwide, not only from the major centres but from the hills of the Drakensberg and flung corners of many provinces.
In instances where there was not enough meaningful engineering work in host municipalities to gain the required experience, candidates were seconded to professional service providers, water boards and soils laboratories.
By the end of the programme, a total of 28 were registered and in the ensuing years many more have been able to register with their respective Statutory Councils and have assumed middle-management and even senior roles in local government.