DST tackles skills shortage

The "lion's share" of the Department of Science and Technology's medium-term budget will be allocated to its human capital development programme.

Presenting the department's budget in Parliament on Friday, science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena said about R323 million would be used to address the adequate development and renewal of human scientific resources.

"There is no doubt that we have to do more to address the very real problem of SA's weak supply of qualified human resources in practically every scientific field of activity. We need to be innovative and inventive to solve this problem," he told MPs.

The human capital allocation will be used mostly to strengthen the department's current programmes. These include the Research Professional Development project, which targets young science, engineering and technology Masters and Doctoral students; the Post-Doctoral Fellowship programme; and the Centres of Excellence initiative. Other projects would also be considered, said Mangena.

Mangena noted the department had also allocated R178 million to provide modern research facilities and infrastructure for the research community.

"This money will be used to acquire or upgrade instrumentation for national research institutions and to provide infrastructure for research capacity development. Working with the National Advisory Council on Innovation, the department has produced a comprehensive report on the infrastructure requirements for both science and innovation, and this will form the basis of a long-term infrastructure plan for science and technology," he explained.

Additionally, the department plans to provide resources - in co-operation with universities and the National Research Foundation - to use a "licensed IT platform" to gather and make available information on research activity within tertiary education institutions.

"I should add that all our activities always include initiatives to deal with poverty and its impact on people's lives. We continue to undertake a number of projects in the field of job creation and poverty alleviation using established and effective technology platforms. These projects have demonstrated that positive results can be achieved by combining technology with the entrepreneurial skills of our people," concluded Mangena.