The construction industry transformation and the digital divide: Bridging the gap

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Skilled labour supply in the South African construction industry: The nexus between certification, quality of work output and shortages

Orientation: Construction human resource management. Research purpose: The study examines the skilled labour supply in the South African construction industry and determines whether there is a relationship between trade certification, quality of work output and scarce labour skills. Motivation for the study: The rationale for the investigation is based on the view of scholars that a skilled labour shortage is preponderant in the South African construction industry even though there is a high level of youth unemployment in South Africa and that the perceived skills shortage contributes to a decrease in productivity and product quality. Research design, approach and method: The paper reviews relevant literature and employs a mixed method research approach in collecting empirical data from contracting companies within the Western Cape Province of South Africa that are listed on the Construction Industry Development Board contractor register. Main findings: The study demonstrated that there is no shortage of manpower, but there is a shortage of qualified or skilled tradesmen, such as electricians, plumbers, welders, fitters and carpenters, whose professions are more technical and require formal training and certification. The level of supply of skilled tradesmen is attributed to the lack of high-quality basic education, the state of the economy, compulsory certification of tradesmen and an ageing workforce. It was also found that there is a significant relationship between skilled labour shortages and the requirement that labour be certified and that work output is unsatisfactory when there is no certification requirement. Practical/managerial implications: Based on these findings, the study concludes that skilled labour shortages and poor work output quality continue to be experienced in the South African construction industry when workers are unable to obtain formal certification for informal work experience acquired through years of practice on construction sites. Contribution: It is recommended that the South African government establish proactive strategies in the form of a framework for use in evaluating, certifying and grading the informal expertise acquired by workers through years of practice. This recommendation seeks to ensure that the supply of certified craftsmen capable of undertaking and producing high-quality construction work meets demand. Keywords: Artisans; Education; Experience; Expertise; Practic

Country context-based opportunities for improving health and safety

Using Nigeria as a case study, this study examines the Social, Political, Economic, Cultural and Religious (SPECR) contexts of developing countries towards unearthing and discussing the opportunities for improving Health and Safety (H&S). Previous research demonstrates the imperativeness of understanding the SPECR contexts of developing countries and the implications of practices, policies and laws that are not underpinned or based on a good understanding of the contexts. However, this has received little attention and the contexts-based opportunities for improving H&S remain unexamined. Through a critical review of literature, it was found that the contexts-based opportunities for improving H&S centre around social media platforms, unexplored potentials and undeveloped fields, the quest of Nigerians to embrace change, religion which teaches morals, community leadership where the leaders are able to command respect, the collectivist cultural dimension which emphasises affection, kinship and power relationship. While issues such as the sensitive nature of religion pose challenges, the study highlights SPECR characteristics, such as the collectivist cultural dimension, that policymakers and contractors should consider in developing policies and strategies towards improving H&S. Nevertheless, as the study is a theoretical piece of work, further empirical evidence on the subject is recommended

A FRAMEWORK FOR SUBCONTRACTOR INTEGRATION IN ALLIANCE CONTRACTS

Project alliancing involves the active collaboration of construction project owners and non-owner participants (designer, contractors, and suppliers) to deliver projects in an atmosphere of shared responsibilities and liabilities. Alliancing connotes integration but in real practice, it fails to create a true alliance environment since only part of the value chain (owner, designer, main contractor) is considered for integration. Consequently subcontractors are very often left out of the key alliance. Therefore this study identifies improvement areas to current alliance practice and suggests changes that will permit critical sub-contracting processes to be integrated into a project’s main alliance. To achieve this objective the research follows a comparative study approach. Information obtained from relevant literature is used to identify current subcontractor management practices and best practices for subcontractor integration in alliances. A case study of an alliance project is used to identify improvement areas in subcontractor management practices in an alliance environment. From these findings, the study proposes a revised alliance framework that integrates subcontractors from the early stages in alliance contracts, thus enabling the realisation of benefits accruable to projects through early contractor involvement