Page 16 - EngineerIT April May Issue 2026

ENGINEERING

Engineering skills under pressure

By Nicola Killops

ore advanced systems are Modern systems are validate behaviour, and manage
being deployed across interconnected. They combine exceptions. The work becomes
MAfrica. Data centres are infrastructure, data, and intelligent less about control and more about
expanding, edge infrastructure processes. Engineers are expected understanding.
is spreading, and autonomous to move across these layers,
operations are starting to take hold. understand how they interact, and “The system handles the routine
respond when something does not work. The engineer deals with
The pressure is shifting to the people behave as expected. what it can’t resolve.”
expected to run them.
“You can’t work in a single This requires confidence in the
There is growing recognition discipline anymore. The systems system, and clarity on when to
across industry that the pace of don’t.” step in.
technological change is outstripping
the pace of skills development. The The baseline has shifted towards a The data layer
gap is not always obvious at first, but broader, more integrated skill set. Decisions are based on patterns,
it shows up quickly in execution. models, and real-time inputs.
Working with intelligent Engineers need to understand
Projects slow down and systems systems how that data is structured, how
are underused. Capability sits in the As automation moves towards it flows, and how it shapes system
technology, but not always in the autonomy, engineers are no longer behaviour.
team. only operating systems. They are
working alongside systems that “If you don’t understand the data,
A changing baseline make decisions. you don’t understand the system.”
Engineering fundamentals still matter,
but they are no longer enough on Instead of executing predefined Data literacy is becoming a core
their own. tasks, engineers interpret outputs, requirement.

16 | EngineerIT April/ May 2026
16 | EngineerIT April/May 2026