Enterprise Development & Corporate Social Responsibility

If you want to make a significant contribution to the well-being of South African communities and South Africa as a whole, then supporting the Construction Enterprises Training System will do exactly that.

It’s a perfect example of a win-win-win situation where:

  • You win by making a positive contribution
  • SMMEs win because they receive specialised and specific construction mentorship that will allow them to make immediate improvement to how they roll out their projects.
  • South Africa wins by having a sustainable and resilient construction industry that will encourage not only successful projects but create more employment for all. The result is a stronger economy for all.

According to the University of the Western Cape, South Africa has a high start-up failure rate:  70-80% of small businesses fail within the first five years – than elsewhere in the world. That means that Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) stand a very small chance of survival – in fact 5 out of 7 statistically will fail. Now apply those numbers to the SMMEs working in the construction industry of South Africa – the same businesses building government facilities, such as schools, hospitals, and roads. If they are failing to succeed as a business, it poses a risk to the quality of the construction projects and to the country’s economic stability.

According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), SMMEs account approximately for 50% – 60% of South Africa’s workforce and contribute around 34% to the country’s- GDP making them extremely important to our economic growth. Failure of these businesses results in major losses to the economic growth of South Africa.

The findings show that SMMEs owned by previously disadvantaged individuals are dealing with issues such as lack of:

  • Finance
  • Experience
  • Sustainable and efficient management systems
  • Knowledge and skills to complete their construction projects profitably

If the above factors are left unattended, the result is imminent business failure. That is exactly why there is a desperate need for the Construction Enterprises Training System (CET System).

Let’s take a look at the stats behind these factors as provided by a study by The Cape Peninsula University of Technology:

In the table below, notice how the construction related experience by SMMEs carry a lower percentage as the years increase. This means there is a significant lack of industry experience.

In the table below, you will notice that SMMEs carry a low rate of operational years – this is because their failure rate is incredibly high in South Africa – typically before the first five years.

The CET System has been developed to target SMMEs in the construction industry with the goal of helping those businesses gain the knowledge and skills they need to provide quality projects, within timelines, and on budget to succeed as a business. The snowball effect is that helping these businesses to succeed will positively impact South Africa’s economic development and growth, while creating more employment opportunities and reliable infrastructure.

The CET System is an online mentorship and training portal that takes its licenced users through more than ten important modules relative to the construction industry. These modules were written by one of the directors, who is a registered professional Construction mentor (Pr C Mentor- SACPCMP) as well as a registered professional project manager (Pr CPM) and a registered professional engineer (Pr Eng- ECSA) with almost 4 decades of experience in the construction industry in South Africa and who mentors on a daily basis – recognizing exactly where the gaps are for SMMEs.

Each module contains written content and a video for those visual learners. There are also important downloadable templates that SMMEs can use onsite. The portal also appeals to the language constraints in South African education modules – not every SMME is fluent in English so why teach them in a language they do not understand? We provide all our modules on English, SeSotho, and Zulu and don’t plan on stopping there. Our mentorship program allows SMMEs to make immediate improvements while helping develop a stronger culture for sustainable habits. This contributes not only to the success of current projects, but future projects too.

Our online training system is available for a full year. Many students do not grasp the knowledge and skills they need from a single classroom session in a language they don’t completely understand. That is why we have made a licence available for a full year – they can learn at their own pace, in their own time, and they can go back to the modules while applying the knowledge and skills in a working setting, allowing for immediate improvement. Users will also receive regular emails with helpful information and tips.

Unfortunately, funding is also a major cause of SMME failure in South Africa so while R6990 excl. Vat (taxes) may seem reasonable for an annual licence containing a wealth of knowledge and skills, the exact people needing these licences are the ones who may be unable to afford them. This is why our project has become more of an outreach now appealing to enterprise development and targeting companies to sponsor the licences to those members and SMMEs who need it most. Not only will they make a massive impact on helping an SMME grow and succeed, but they will help the growth of the economy and the infrastructure of South Africa too. We believe it is a big step into developing a stronger future for the country.

We want to expand the learning and mentorship as much as possible and take the website to new heights with advanced capabilities for learners. We aspire to grow this system into Africa and really hope to make a difference for SMMEs and all working within the built environment.

There are further findings and research that substantiate exactly why SMMEs in the construction industry need OUR help:

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335383701

The construction sector is in a critical state, having shrunk considerably over the past two years.

The construction sector was the worst-performing sector locally, quarter on quarter, in 2021, with less growth during the period compared with that of 2020, despite the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, and various media reports of potential investments by private investors and government.

Source: Engineering News