NSI interactions between government and industry: The case of the South African aerospace industry.
Mokumo, Phemelo Defence
Mokumo, Phemelo Defence
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Abstract
The aerospace industry refers to the research and development, design, production, support, maintenance, conversion and advancement of rotary and fixed wing aircraft, satellites, satellite launch and tracking systems, air traffic control and management systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and weapon structures as well as their relevant subsystems and components. The industry has the potential of developing high-tech products that spill over to other related industries such as the automotive industry. The industry contributes towards NSI in different ways including absorbing innovations in technological advancements. This project questions interactions among players within the NSI specifically focusing on the Aerospace industry in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in order to find out how the players interact with each other and whether such interactions lead to the improvement and competitiveness of the Aerospace industry. Although there are several studies in the aerospace industry, this study emanated from a limited research in the areas of interactions between the government and the aerospace industry in South Africa. This research project found that although Government has financial incentives and other support mechanisms for technology development and enhancement in place, there is no coordination in the liaison between Government and the aerospace industry. The industry contributes positively to the National Systems of Innovation through human capability improvement and the development of scientific and technical skills. Institutions of higher learning have a vital role to play in developing the aerospace industry by producing engineers and scientists; however, there is a mismatch between the graduates and the level of skills required by the industry. Most of the engineers and scientists in the aerospace industry are fairly old, previously designated as white people who are nearing their retirement age, and this poses a risk to the overall skills level of the industry.
The recommendations highlight the need for a coordinated interaction among the industry players, this can be achieved through the involvement of industry associations and professional bodies within the industry. Although government has incentives to support different industries, there is a need to have an aerospace industry specific incentive scheme to support global competitiveness of local industry players and development of firms within the aerospace industry. There should be areas of mutual interest such as employment creation and skills development serving as a basis for improvement in interactions among the players.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree, Magister Technologiae: Comparative Local Development
in the Department of Economics and Management Sciences, Faculty of Economics at the Tshwane University of Technology
Date
2019-01-01
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Tshwane University of Technology
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Keywords
Aerospace, NSI, South African, Technology development