By Olebogeng Manhe: Chairman of the Gap Infrastructure Corporation (GIC)

South Africa is faced with a severe youth unemployment crisis, disproportionately affecting underskilled workers. A key driver of employment in this space is the construction and infrastructure development sector, which regularly employs lower-skilled, disadvantaged workers from the local communities in which projects are based.

The challenge is clear: joblessness among South Africa’s youth is exceptionally high, having reached 43.8% among 15- to 34-year-olds in the first quarter of 2024, underscoring the urgency of the issue.

It’s concerning that many households, particularly in underdeveloped areas, rely on the income of only one person, especially as this responsibility often falls on a young person. This means that for every young person who’s unable to find a job, there may be a family who cannot afford to buy food that month. This struggle is a reality that many of us growing up in townships and villages have experienced.

Furthermore, these individuals often cannot pay for schooling for themselves, their younger siblings, or their own children. This means that younger generations are being deprived of the necessary education and skills to break the cycle of poverty. Likewise, economic growth and development are stunted, as a large portion of the population remains undereducated and unable to contribute meaningfully to the workforce.

This also has significant consequences for industries that find it increasingly difficult to source skilled workers to fill roles such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and surveyors, all of which require a considerable amount of training.

Resolving industry challenges

The solution to the sector’s employment challenges is for construction companies to continue hiring from the communities where their projects are based, particularly focussing on young, unemployed residents. But companies must go one step further to provide the necessary training to ensure that these individuals have both the skills needed to make the project a success and to access future employment opportunities.

By equipping individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with the required skills, we can address unemployment and build a talent pipeline that will fuel South Africa's infrastructure development for years to come.

For example, Gap Infrastructure Corporation’s (GIC) Kathu project in the Northern Cape involved the construction of roads and storm water drainage, and a water and sewer network for around 5,100 homes. From the beginning of the project, youth workers were employed and upskilled from the local community, and became responsible for 72% of work conducted. Our goal was to empower these young workers to go on to establish their own small construction businesses, or to empower them with the skills needed to access future career and employment opportunities.

However, creating jobs and upskilling young and inexperienced employees is just the first step. Lack of education is still a major concern, as last quarter’s employment statistics reveal that only 9.8% of employed youth were graduates.

To truly empower individuals from disadvantaged communities for success in construction, education and skills development are crucial. This is where platforms like Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, apprenticeships, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education are particularly important.

We need to see more companies working with the relevant tertiary institutions to help workers obtain relevant qualifications to market themselves for the future. Collaborative efforts with these institutions can also result in the development of specialised training modules that better ensure that graduates are job-ready.

Moreover, construction companies can provide students with internship and mentorship opportunities which offer invaluable hands-on experience and exposure to real-world projects. This will allow students the chance to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical settings, and provide companies with direct access to well-performing and qualified workers the moment they graduate.

Ultimately, by emphasising youth employment and upskilling practices, the construction industry can invest in meaningfully changing the lives of those most in need, while reducing youth unemployment and helping to build a technically skilled workforce for the industry to draw from in the future.