DEVELOP & INVEST
in the building industry . The shortage is so severe that , on many building sites , engineers routinely find themselves acting as project managers – even though they often lack specialised project management training .
In 2017 , online educator GetSmarter noted that nearly 70 % of South African organisations ( across industries ) ‘ have a career path for those engaged in project management training ’, while the South African Medium-Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF ) has R845 billion set aside for public sector infrastructure projects .
It goes back even further . In 2015 , US project management software company RedTeam wailed : ‘ Where are the construction project managers ? The construction industry is facing a labour shortage ,’ it lamented , ‘ and project managers are among the top three hardest to find of skilled workers . Four out of five organisations report that they are struggling to find qualified PMs , and more than 20 % of PMs are approaching retirement age and will need replacing .’
In 2014 , Sean Jones , a director at black-owned artisan training company Artisan Training Institute ( ATI ), told Engineering News that the South African construction industry was facing severe problems around construction project delivery .
‘ We are hearing about serious delays in projects , lack of skills , and low levels of worker participation ,’ Jones said at the time . ‘ Given these factors , it is a distinct possibility that some of the bigger projects , which form part of government ’ s current MTEF , will be badly constructed , or simply take too long to complete .’
That was seven years ago .
What ’ s the solution ?
Little has changed . Tim Stranks , a consultant at UK recruitment services firm Macdonald & Company , recently pointed to The UK Employer Skills Survey , which found that the construction sector has the most vacancies based in skills shortages and the third-highest rate of hard-to-fill jobs .
‘ There has always been a skills shortage in construction ,’ Stranks shrugged . ‘ Good , highly skilled , and highly experienced construction managers are hard to find . It has become more difficult to fill such vacancies since 2014 . The Global Financial Crisis and ensuing recession hit the industry hard . Younger workers quit construction . Older employees are now approaching retirement . Youngsters have been shunning the sector . The result is a shortage in skilled staff that could take years to close .’
Unfortunately , the construction industry is notoriously poor at providing structured learning and training environments . Major players tend to subcontract skills like bricklaying ( so have zero incentive to provide training and development ), while – as MDA Law co-founder Ian Massey wrote in a recent opinion piece – there are ‘ serious deficiencies ’ when it comes to management-level training too .
‘ The decision-makers who decide what is an appropriate and satisfactory form of qualification to satisfy the needs of industry and commerce appear not to understand what it takes to be a competent operator in the field of construction ,’ Massey wrote . ‘ The view appears to be that having a degree or a college diploma is enough .’
It ’ s not , obviously . As Massey said – and as the Department of Higher Education & Training ’ s List of Occupations in High Demand report highlights – South Africa ’ s construction industry needs ‘ more structure to ensure that we develop competent , skilled people to strengthen our local industry , and who can compete on the international stage .’
27 D E V E L O P M E N T
Mark van Dijk