By: Dr Mmaphefo Thwala - Water Sector Manager at EWSETA

While EWSETA supports President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to restore and upgrade critical water infrastructure, we believe water reform is as much a skills issue as a funding one. This Water Month comes on the back of the President’s recent State of the Nation Address, where he went as far as saying that “water is now the single most important issue for many people in South Africa.”

The President acknowledged years of underinvestment, maintenance backlogs and system failures. However, infrastructure alone will not secure South Africa’s water future. The system only works when there are skilled people to operate and maintain it.

There is a clear opportunity for EWSETA to extend our contribution to water sector recovery. Through working with national and local government (i.e. municipalities), water boards and industry, EWSETA has already been involved in supporting skills development in the water sector.  However, considering the scale of the challenge outlined in the 2026 SONA, there is room for EWSETA to take on additional skills development initiatives.

Creating practical link between skills planning and service delivery

EWSETA is actively revolutionising the landscape of water management, and better aligning infrastructure investment with workforce planning will mean driving skills development that is guided by what’s happening in treatment plants, pump stations, and across reticulation networks. When training priorities are informed by municipal maintenance backlogs or system failures, they can respond directly to the pressures faced on the ground. This allows workforce development to support infrastructure upgrades and sector reform.

By strengthening training for water artisans such as plumbing and millwright technicians, and by expanding our programmes that upskill and reskill the existing municipal workforce, we can strengthen the technical backbone of the system. Building technical competencies in operations and maintenance, through artisanal and learnership recognition of prior learning, ensures that skills development responds directly to where the system is under strain.  This also speaks to the President’s emphasis on a dual training model that links formal education with structured workplace experience. EWSETA plays an important role in connecting training institutions such as TVET colleges with employers and public utilities, ensuring that learning is tied to the realities of plant operations and distribution networks through workplace-based learning. It’s critical that we continue to reduce the disconnect between qualification and competence.

Identifying gaps and building capacity in those areas

Increased collaboration also makes it possible to see more clearly where skills gaps are and where existing training no longer matches the intricacies and realities of the water system. Through engagement with water boards, municipalities and private industries, EWSETA supports the closure of these gaps and responds through designing qualifications that address operational demands. EWSETA has developed  suitable water-focused occupational skills programmes for qualifications across various skill levels, from Water Conservation Practitioner NQF 4,   Industrial Water Plant Operator  (NQF level 4), Borehole Pump Operator (NQF 4), and Industrial Water Process Controller (NQF 5)  to Water Works Management Practitioner (NQF 6),   Water Control Officer (NQF 6), Water Use Specialist (NQF 7) and Water Resource Manager (NQF 8).

However, aligning qualifications to current needs is only part of the issue. The pressures facing the water system are constantly evolving due to climate change, ageing infrastructure, rising demand, pollution impacts and rapidly advancing technologies. Skills development must therefore look beyond keeping today’s infrastructure operational and begin actively preparing the workforce for what lies ahead. Training that builds capability in smart systems, digital water management systems, nature-based solutions and sustainable water management will enable long-term resilience across the sector.

Strengthening capability under national accountability

The introduction of licensing for water service providers and the possibility of criminal consequences for ongoing failure, highlight that performance in the water sector is now directly linked to accountability. The establishment of a National Water Crisis Committee, chaired by the President, also shows that water has been elevated to a matter of national priority. This shift reframes the crisis not merely as an infrastructure challenge, but as a test of professional competence and institutional responsibility.

A sector facing stricter oversight and public scrutiny cannot function without a workforce able to operate and maintain increasingly complex systems. Investing and strengthening the skills base of South Africa’s water workforce will improve the sector’s ability to respond to immediate failures and future pressures, making skills development inseparable from water security itself.