Construction World June 2016

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INVESTING IN ITS STAFF Providing the opportunity for skills development and upliftment is an important

CONCRETE CONVERSATION PIECES Participating in national Libra ry Week, The Concrete Institute (TCI) Information Centre invited staff to enter a special competition to see who could create the most innovative small concrete ‘conversation pieces’ for their desks. competition was to showcase how easy it is to work with concrete, and also to show the material's renowned versatility. “At the same time, our fun competition's education element was in line with the Library and Information Association of SA (LIASA) ‘#libraries4lifelonglearning’ theme for 2016, and endorsed the LIASA viewpoint that libraries have a major role to play in the development of a knowledgeable nation,” Battison explained. John Roxburgh, lecturer at TCI School of Concrete Technology, provided the staff with expert guidelines on creating the conversation pieces, entitled 'First Impres- sions', which now have pride of place at their workstations in the TCI offices in Midrand. Guest judge for the competition was Michelle Fick, Chryso South Africa's exec- utive relationship and projects manager. Three prizes were awarded, plus another for the entry with the best title. > Susan Battison, the Institute's Information Specialist, says the motive behind the ‘First Impressions’

“This a major step forward for these candidates should they choose to run their own business in the future. We have admired their commitment to their studies while still performing their duties in the workplace. “It is important for our employees to know that we fully support their development irre- spective of what it is that they decide to study and that it is in this way that longer lasting rela- tionships are formed between organisations and their employees.” Ocon Brick is committed to making sure that each employee receives the support they require as they move on to their higher levels of study. While this course was attended by an all women teamof employees, the courses are open to both men and women employees. ABET is a unique South African programme that offers basic adult education through flexible, developmental and targeted learning programmes aimed at fulfilling the learning needs in the country and provides nationally recognised certificates upon course completion Ocon Brick, one of South Africa’s largest manufacturers of clay stock bricks, is part of the IS Group of companies which includes Technicrete and Rocla, and received their seventh PMR Gold Arrow Award in 2015 for excellence for its contribution and service to the construction industry.

Ocon Brick employees enrolled for courses such as writing skills, numeracy and communication skills and recently these employees were awarded Certificates of Completion for their different course levels ranging from Level One right through to Level Four at an awards ceremony held in March 2016. Ocon Brick human resource manager, Ben Mpele said “We are pleased to see that, with support fromOcon Brick , some of the Level Four certified employees will be moving on to study ‘Business Practices’. with the Triple E educational institution, has been providing its staff with the opportunity to acquire new skills through selected Adult Basic Education Training (ABET) courses. > contribution by any employer to its employees. Ocon Brick, through its collaboration

Ocon Brick employees receiving their Certificates of Completion.

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development; thereby creating opportunities for vacation work, job shadowing, internships and mentoring. “SACPCMP will be steadfast in creating link- ages, network and relationships between the industry and students in the Built Environment disciplines,” says Nomvula Rakolote, SACPCMP registrar. SACPCMP would also want to assist learners in Grades 10, 11 and 12 to choose these professions in the not so distant future. The Student Chapter has been positioned in such a manner that the secondary school students also benefit from it. This is through getting guidance on which units to consider at the university level in order to be profesionals in the Construction industry.

and the private sector have made into infra- structure development in our country since the advent of democracy in 1994. SACPCMP will this year hold massive Road- shows in all accredited institutions in raising awareness to students and industry partici- pants on the importance of registering with the SACPCMP Student Chapter Catergory. The Student Chapter is a category meant for students enrolled full/part time in an under- graduate and/or post graduate with a major in Building Science or Construction Management. This initiative mainly serves as a valuable link between the students, registered persons as well as companies in the built environment for purposes of mentorship and their professional

The four prize winners in The Concrete Institute Information Centre's Library Week competiton for staff members, pose with their conversation pieces and the guest judge for the occasion, Michelle Fick, of Chryso SA (at the back). From left: Susan Battison (whose entry, Key Conversation, won the ‘Best Title’ prize); Phumeza Ngugudo (Rock of the Past), Maggie Kgatla (African Perspective) and Kizzy Shipalana (Harmony).

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2016