The CEA(SA) represents employers engaged in the construction engineering industry, operating in the structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, piping and project management fields. In addition to its own activities, the CEA has two active divisions: the Labour Broking Division and the Temporary Employment Services Division. The association also has close ties to the SA Institute of Steel Construction and the SA Institute of Welding.

It was founded in 1936 as the Transvaal Structural Engineering Association, changed its name subsequently to the Constructional Engineering Association and finally, to the Constructional Engineering Association (South Africa) in 1986. The CEA(SA) is 1 of 27 independent employer associations, each representing a different sector of the industry which together form the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA).