THE lack of career guidance at schools and the smaller number of pupils who take up and pass mathematics well are some of the contributing factors to a skills shortage in SA.

This is according to a higher education and training report launched in Kempton Park on the East Rand yesterday.

According to the report, the top-six professionals that are in demand are surveyors, materials engineers, grader operators, programme/project managers, electronic engineer technicians and welders. The department commissioned the research last year following the launch of the national infrastructure plan by President Jacob Zuma.

The research was conducted to determine what critical skills would be needed to successfully carry out the 18 strategic integrated projects of the national infrastructure plan.

Speaking at the launch, Joseph Komane from the Council for the Built Environment said for jobs such as land surveying, students needed to achieve at least a 70% pass in maths to get into university, and not many pupils were getting those marks.

Other trades identified as scarce skills include drainage, sewerage and road marking.

Some of the challenges in certain professions were that no qualifications were offered at higher education institutions.

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande urged universities and colleges to consider the report when making future decisions.

He said his department was also going to look at the recommendations and see which ones it would prioritise.

He said his department would encourage universities and colleges to have centres of specialisation and, where possible, avoid duplication.

For more stories like this one, be sure to buy the Sowetan newspaper from Mondays to Fridays