It seems that there is a growing realisation that “skills and experience” are invaluable assets in the South African Construction and Building environment.
Over the past two weeks Minister of Public Works, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, has placed a number of full page advertisements calling upon all retired, unemployed and not yet qualified Engineers and Artisans to submit their CV’s to the Department of Public Works.
“The aim is to create a database of Engineers and Artisans so that they can be utilised to assist the Department to deliver on its infrastructure development mandate as well as contribute to job creation and a sustainable skills pipeline into the future”.
Mahlangu-Nkabinde said that the Department of Public Works wanted to test the scarcity of skills in the country, which was often given as reason for outsourcing most of the construction projects commissioned by government to large multinational corporations.
“I am of the opinion that there is capacity, ability and willingness to successfully handle most of these services, which are usually outsourced, in the broader community of this country,” she noted.
What is of interest to SA – The Good News is that the necessity for skills when juxtaposed with the BBBEE imperative is beginning to reveal a greater imperative for skills acquisition and the possible beginnings of sunset clauses in respect of Affirmative Action.
Article by SA Good News
