The South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) is hoping to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Public Works (DPW) early next year to collaborate on issues affecting the property sector, Sapoa president Amelia Beattie said at a recent briefing.

She explained that Sapoa had met with DPW officials and agreed on four principles on which the parties could cooperate. “[This] will be really beneficial for Sapoa members, because there are a lot of DPW issues that have been worrying our members for a long time,” Beattie highlighted.

She told Engineering News that while the specific areas of collaboration would be announced when the MoU was signed, education and communication would certainly feature.

“Education will be a big focus because skills development, even in government, is where we can add a lot of value and make a difference,” Beattie said.

Further, in terms of communication, Sapoa would provide the DPW with a mouthpiece through which to communicate with its members and explain why certain processes were taking place and how general issues could be resolved.

Meanwhile, Beattie also announced that Sapoa would launch its skills development research study at its yearly convention in May next year.

She explained that the study, which would encompass the entire industry and not only Sapoa members, would aim to bring about a better understanding of the industry’s skills requirements and determine which skills were missing.

The study would also try to determine the growth and/or decline of jobs experienced by the industry over the past ten years, as well as determine the current status quo in terms of employment equity.

Moreover, the research would determine the scope, depth and investment of commercial property education and training required, as well as the future capacity required to identify possible stumbling blocks hindering the required growth, as well as how to overcome these.

The research would also seek to determine the level of funding and the bursaries required to address skills shortages in the property industry.