Unemployed youth are being trained to become building inspectors by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC).
The Building Inspector Training Programme (BITP) was launched in April this year with the aim of developing a solid and formidable pool of building inspectors who will create the desired outcomes on top structured buildings with the aim of improving their quality. “It’s been well documented that the housing quality in South Africa has found itself in an undesirable state. This has affected projects such as RDP houses, road infrastructure etc.,” said Prof Siyabonga Simayi, CDC Programme Director. The BITP programme consists of 12 trainees and follows a two-pronged approach designed to take the form of apprenticeship training, incorporating practical training in all key facets of the built environment and onsite mentorship under seasoned building inspectors. The BITP programme is set to run for a period of 18 months with up to eight months of practical training and the balance for mentorship. The programme is aimed at developing unemployed young people with prerequisite building environment theory into full-fledged building inspectors.The envisaged outcome is a solid and formidable pool of building inspectors premised on maintaining quality provision of construction services within the built industry.
“In initiating this programme CDC was not oblivious to the traditional process of the built environment, which normally entails organic development into the role by virtue of skills and knowledge gathered over years through industry experience,” said Mzoxolo Dube, CDC Head of Technical Skills Development Centre. The organisation has undertaken research to learn from practices in other countries that apply both parallel approaches, organic development – evolving into the role without following training programmes – and focused training- directed to the subject matter and envisaged outcomes. “CDC believes that rigorously trained and mentored individuals can be developed into building inspectors of high quality,” added Dube.
