The Herald Online **Business**
‘Serious‘ lack of skilled construction workers
Sipho Masondo BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT
THE domestic construction industry‘s serious lack of skilled personnel was high on the agenda of speakers who addressed yesterday‘s opening session of Master Builders SA annual congress at The Boardwalk.
Opening the congress, public works minister Thoko Didiza said the country urgently needed high-calibre skills, not only for new projects but also to maintain infrastructural assets currently being constructed, as well as for general rehabilitation of public assets.
She said there was an urgent need to employ more skilled women on building sites.
“We have to find ways of transforming the construction sector in a gender-sensitive industry. Women could surely be effectively employed not only in offices but also in supervisory capacities on site – in the role male foremen are currently playing.”
Grinaker-LTA‘s managing director, Neil Cloete said there was currently only one engineer for every 3166 South Africans, compared with, for example, Norway‘s 455.
“About 80% of South African schools are now said to be ‘dysfunctional‘ and the declining matric pass rate has reached alarming proportions. The pass rate in essential engineering subjects such as mathematics and science is constantly dropping,” he said.
Samuel Isaacs, chief executive of the South African Qualifications Authority (Saqa), said building contractors too often adopted an attitude of “wait until we get the contract before we think about training”.
Isaacs said there was a tendency to employ unqualified staff, who could be paid less and that the construction sector‘s skills shortage extended further than just building sites.
“We are not only short of artisans and engineers but also of other vital skills, such as town planning.”