This study aims to ascertain how the relationships between structures in the South African engineering education and training system condition the likelihood of the systemic transformation required by the changing contemporary engineering industry. Drawing on social realism as its theoretical framework, this qualitative case study analyses the relationships between the Engineering Council of South Africa, higher education and industry. The findings show that the South African engineering education and training system exhibits a tendency towards maintenance of the status quo and that systemic transformation is therefore unlikely. The relationship that shows the most potential for evolution is that between higher education and industry as their relationship is based on tenuous containment and compromise. The implication of the study is that those interested in engineering education and training should delve beyond curriculum- and pedagogy-based initiatives in order to better understand the likelihood of the occurrence of systemic transformation.