Construction World January 2021

MARKETPLACE

UPSKILLED ENTREPRENEUR wins big during lockdown A massive rollout of infrastructure projects countrywide is one of the four priority interventions in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, and as such, established construction business owners need to be upskilled and equipped to be ready to take on these projects. O ne such business owner is Faheem Harris (pictured), Managing Director of ZHAC for our business.” Harris has an architectural, engineering and business administration background and started ZHAC Construction with his business partner Zubeida Hendricks, a Chartered Accountant, in 2009, when he saw a gap in the maintenance market.

Construction, a maintenance and construction company that recently won the Best Black Umbrellas’ Ambassador for 2020 at the National Enterprise Development Awards (NEDAs). The awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs who are part of the Black Umbrellas’ business incubation programme and highlight the

“When starting the business, I saw a decline in building contracts, but I noticed a big market for the maintenance of existing buildings and that’s where we placed our focus. As such, we started working for corporate clients such as Standard Bank Insurance, who is still one of our clients to date. Due to our belief in the importance of providing clients with quality and good service delivery we were able to grow and we managed to win Standard Bank Retail, Santam, I&J and UCT – currently our biggest clients,” he explains. Harris also attributes his business growth to the lessons he learnt in the Entrepreneurship for Contractors Development Programme offered by the Master Builders’ Association Western Cape (MBAWC) in partnership with the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation last year. This programme is offered free of charge for subcontractors and small contractors registered with the Building Industry Bargaining Council (BIBC) and the MBAWC in the Western Cape and covers key elements affecting a business’s success, such as: pricing and claims,

dedication that goes into ensuring that black-owned businesses are sustainable, profitable and that they create much-needed job opportunities. Expressing his excitement about winning the award, which recognises the hard work he has put into his business, Harris said: “Nationally, Black Umbrellas have nine business incubators, consisting of 220 businesses, and being awarded the first position for best Black Umbrellas’ Ambassador in 2020 is a great achievement

BIG BOOST FOR PRODUCING ENGINEERING STUDENTS The decision to establish two new engineering degree programmes at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) will greatly contribute to the success of the country’s efforts to prioritise infrastructure development as the driving force for economic recovery.

C yril Gamede, the Chief Executive Officer of the Construction Industry Development Board, says the two new programmes will bolster the output of engineering graduates in the country and provide opportunities for young people who want to make a career in the engineering and construction sectors. “This is the culmination of a planning process that started nearly a decade ago,” says Gamede who served as Chairperson of the UNIZULU Council from 2015 to 2017. “We recognised the need to graduate more engineers in South Africa in order to meet the needs of our developing economy. A concept was born to develop engineering programmes from historically black universities with UNIZULU as a test case. The new engineering programmes in historically disadvantaged universities will produce young professionals that can lead the country’s future investment in construction and infrastructure.” UNIZULU Vice Chancellor, Professor Xoliswa Mtose says that the University will however require large scale investment in the development of the physical and laboratory infrastructure in the next ten years, to ensure that the offering of engineering programmes is a success. “Developing such infrastructure requires the adoption of an integrated district infrastructure development model which creates interdependencies and strong collaboration between

UNIZULU, the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Science and Technology, uMhlathuze Municipality, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Works and Infrastructure, and private industries in Richards Bay.” From 2021 UNIZULU will offer Bachelor degree programmes in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at its Richards Bay Campus. The closing date for applications is 21 January 2021 and prospective students will require an NSC qualification with Maths and Physics at level 5 and English at level 4. “The construction sector is pivotal to the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Programme announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa,” Gamede says. “Infrastructure investment projects to a value of more than R360bn have been approved covering initiatives in the fields of transport, water and sanitation, energy and human settlements. “These projects will drive economic activity and job creation in South Africa over the next decade. We, therefore, have to ensure that we produce a sufficient number of highly-skilled professionals who can lead these projects and deliver successfully on the expectations,” says Gamede. UNIZULU has steadily built its reputation as a centre of higher learning but this will be the first time that it offers graduate

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2021