The country’s body of construction contractors Master Builders South Africa (MBSA), has called for an urgent meeting with the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

The meeting is meant to provide clarity on the standing of thousands of learners who are in training programmes supported by the CETA.

The Construction Education and Training Authority was placed under administration by Minister Nzimande on the 29 January to facilitate an investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement and maladministration.

“We have thousands of learners placed with building contractors on learnerships, apprenticeships and candidacy programmes and the immediate concern is to ensure that the placing of the CETA under administration does not result in unintended consequences for these programmes and for skills development in the construction sector.” said MBSA President Mr John Matthews.

Matthews confirmed that MBSA was aware of ongoing challenges at the CETA, which were causing significant delays in payments of training grants, bursaries and stipends to employers and learners.

At just below 10% of the total labour force of the country, the construction industry remains one of the largest employers in the country. However, the lack of qualified and experienced workers has been cited as one of the biggest threats facing the industry.

To improve delivery of skills programmes in the country, Minister Nzimande made an undertaking to implement a Contract Management System to keep track of the flow of funds, so that financial management becomes more transparent within the Department.

He also indicated that there would be consequences for individuals who fail to comply.

“As an industry body, maintaining a steady supply of the required building skills for the country is at the core of what we do for our members, and we remain committed to working with the Minister to ensure that the CETA is more effective and delivers the skills needs of the industry. We also support any action aimed at entrenching good corporate governance and better performance, but we are concerned that this development may jeopardise current skills programmes and those that are planned for the near future” said Matthews. 

Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) is a Federation of registered employer Associations representing contractors and employers in the construction industry, and is regulated in terms of Section 107 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. The Federation’s nine Master Builders Associations, and three Affiliate Associations represent more than 3500 contractors and employers in the industry.