Bottlenecks and constraints within the local labour market for engineers in the petrochemical industry sector : a case study of Engen Refinery, Wentworth.

Abstract

This research investigates the specific labour market dynamics that underline the

shortage of engineers in the Petrochemical Industry in South Africa. The central

argument of this dissertation is that an understanding of a skills shortage requires a

distinct knowledge of the internal and external nature of each labour market in which

the shortage is being experienced. This dissertation develops a critique of the neoclassical

perspective which dominates current analysis of skill shortages. While it is

important to understand the external labour market, it is equally important to consider

the internal labour market to better identify and understand the specific dynamics that

underline a skills shortage in an organisation and industry.

Using Engen Refinery as a case study, this dissertation focuses on an in depth

examination of the experiences of engineers working at the Refinery. The findings

reveal that the dynamics that underline the skill shortage of engineers in the

Petrochemical Industry in the South African context are manifold. Skill shortages are

a consequence of dynamics in both the external and internal labour market; these I

argue are interrelated.