When Knowledge Base decided, 'enough is enough,' it promptly opened up another division in its civil engineering software company. Its response to the growing shortage of skilled and qualified staff in the technical fields has led to the newly established Knowledge Base Recruitment (KBR) wing in September 2004. According to Vincent Bester, managing director of Knowledge Base, "this service is long overdue, but it is a vital step in providing support to the civil engineering consulting firms and also in helping to secure the future of civil engineering."

The Recruitment Centre aims to bridge the gap between the employer and technical staff. It is managed by an experienced team of recruiters who use the latest assessment procedures to determine the candidate's suitability. Assessment procedures include the Targeted Selection Method that provides insight into a candidate's competencies through a situational behavioural interview. The Thomas International System on the other hand identifies and capitalises on the strengths of people, enabling the organisation to maximise its return on human investment.

The centre is backed by the Knowledge Base Software team most of whom have a background in CAD and civil engineering. "The experience that we have gained as a software provider in the engineering and design industries has now placed us in the ideal position to provide a specialised recruitment service. We understand the industry and have gained a good knowledge of the skills required to fill positions," explains Bester.

KBR draws on a database of top personnel who are available for both permanent and contract positions in South Africa. Industry sectors that are targeted include middle to senior level engineers, designers, architects, electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, GIS operators, natural scientists, engineering geologists and town planners. The successful candidates are either placed in permanent or contract positions and there is also a special emphasis on graduate recruitment.

"We have strong links to universities and technikons who are existing users of our software. This allows us to source some of the best graduates from the engineering and design faculties. The relationship with tertiary institutions is largely contained in our social responsibility plan that prescribes the use of our software at a heavily discounted rate. In terms of secondary institutions however, the use of our AllyCAD software bears no cost. We also supply annual prize sponsorship to the best achiever and offer certificates, trophies and cash incentives with the primary aim of promoting design excellence," notes Vincent.

According to Bester, the advantages of sourcing staff from KBR are many. "The centre is part of a greater company that operates exclusively in the engineering and design field. This means that it focuses on one industry niche with the added benefit of being able to draw on existing links with industry bodies, organisations and companies within the business."

The Knowledge Base Recruitment Centre has recently gone 'live'. Job seekers in the technical field may now add their CVs online to the KBR database, which once approved, will be uploaded onto the website. Job seekers will also be able to search the website/database for current jobs available, while employers can check online for new recruits.

KBR online applications will pave the way for professional personnel in the engineering and design fields so that they may take advantage of exciting career opportunities on offer.

For more information contact Yvonne Beebee, Knowledge Base Software, 021 701 1850, yvonne@knowbase.co.za, www.knowbase.co.za