One would be lucky to get production
of +500 bricks per day from of a bricklayer.
The question which beckons is this: what
is causing this reduction in the quality of
semi-skilled resources?
Skills shortages typically occur where
an employer needs to fill a vacancy for a
specialised role (for example, engineers,
architects, project managers) and those
roles requiring experienced individuals (for
example, contract managers, site agents,
general foremen). Semi-skilled resources
on the other hand are plentiful. It is the
quality of those skills which appears to be
the issue.
A fair amount of time should be spent
critiquing these questions and exploring
potential solutions to these issues.
However, the one which I take an interest
in is the following: What are the causes
of the reduced supply pool of young
construction professionals?
Poor Image as a Career Choice
In 2008, the Department of Public Works
conducted a study [1] which came to a
number of conclusions regarding the
poor supply of professional skills into the
construction industry. One of these issues
related to the perceived unattractiveness
of the industry from high school learners.
When compared to careers in medicine,
accountancy and law, the idea of travelling
a lot, being ‘dirty’ and wearing boots,
overalls and a hard hat for a living was
found to be enough to challenge any
young mind against pursuing a career
in construction.
Apart from the above, the schooling
system, the private sector and institutions
of higher learning have not done well
in terms of communicating careers in
construction as great options for learners.
In fact, career paths in construction [2]
have never been well defined and the fact
that the industry is notorious for its Health
and Safety incidents, one would not be
surprised that potential young construction
professionals are more likely to consider
paths where career development is clearly
defined, is attractive, and is perceived to
be safe and known to offer better incomes.
Perceived Low-Incomes
Apart from the large infrastructure projects
which have been unicorns in recent years,
profit margins in the construction industry
have been rapidly declining.
It is not uncommon to hear of pre-tax
net profit margins ranging from 1 - 3%.
This makes it very difficult for many general
contractors to offer year-on-year inflation
beating income increases for even their
most talented staff.
This has resulted in the industry offering
relatively low incomes when gauged
against the amount of work which the
employee puts in. Further to that, work
on public holidays (days which are sometimes
unaccounted for), full days on
Saturdays and half days on Sundays
(usually unpaid) have become normalised,
and this has perhaps continued to fuel the
perception of low incomes when gauged
against work put in.
Conclusion
The South African construction industry is
a major contributor to the country’s GDP
and its survival can be considered to be a
factor of many variables, one of which is
a consistent supply of large infrastructure
projects into the market and the other
being the supply and containment of skills
in the industry.
The South African Government appears
to be taking the first variable seriously
by way of the much anticipated multibillion
dollar Infrastructure Development
Programme, primarily geared towards
providing relief from the economic
atrocities perpetrated by SARS-COV-2.
This should see an excess of one-hundred
infrastructure projects being rolled-out
over a number of years. Whether this
becomes a reality, only time will tell.
And what about the second variable?
Well, semi-skilled resources are plentiful,
but where has the quality gone? Skilled
resources are leaving the industry. Why
isn’t the industry preserving these skills
by transferring them? Lastly, the supply
of young construction professionals is
dwindling and part of this problem is due
to the poor public image the industry has,
together with the perceived low incomes.
The skills shortage problem belongs
to all of us. Government, Private Sector,
Institutions of Higher Learning, Industry
Bodies and Technical Skills Colleges all
need to come together and find practical
solutions towards improving the supply
of quality skill sets in the industry and
retaining them.
Apprenticeships, mentorship programmes,
career-Days, incentive and reward
schemes. Do these ring a bell? I hope they
do because these are potential areas from
which solutions to the industry’s skills
shortage can be obtained.
1. Tshele, T., and Agumba, JN., (2014), Investigating the Causes of Skills Shortage in South Africa Construction Industry: A Case of Artisans, People in Construction Conference
2. Utting, P., (2010), The risks of skills shortage in construction, Proceedings 5th Built Environment Conference, July, pp. 263 – 275
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