The skills challenge facing South Africa needs no introduction, but what demands attention is the way in which performance quality and leadership will be developed in order to drive the construction industry forward.

The skills challenge facing South Africa needs no introduction, but what demands attention is the way in which performance quality and leadership will be developed in order to drive the construction industry forward.

Construction dispute resolution techniques are no longer confined to grim court or arbitration battles. Far more appropriate techniques have emerged; techniques which seek to preserve commercial relationships and minimise disruption to the progress of the works.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) recently held its annual COBRA Conference under the shadow of Table Mountain at the University of Cape Town. Each year the COBRA conference provides a platform for the dissemination of original research and innovative developments within the disciplines of construction, building and real estate. Since it was first held in 1995, COBRA has been a key event for the industry's thought leaders to gather and debate high-level global research, the results of which have consistently formed the basis for entirely new areas of research.

The abuse of labour in the construction industry has come under heavy fire of late. In particular, wage disputes, working conditions, benefits and worker's rights. Added to this, there is a strong undercurrent of unethical business practice on behalf of the contractors themselves.

The readiness of South African industries to cheat has gone too far. The disease of dishonest business practices has permeated the major industries of the country, and most menacingly, it is these businesses that impact directly on the lives of the poor, and in turn undermine Government's development agenda. Think bread, milk, steel, bricks, cement, sand, pharmaceuticals, banking and even airlines. The sheer breadth of cartel and anti-competitive behaviour within South Africa is highly unnerving, especially when considered in the context of a global recession that is reaching into even the deepest of pockets.

Rod Burn, Director of Organisational Performance at Murray & Roberts, discusses the concept of leadership, and how getting back to basics, and face-to-face with your team can change the very soul and performance of your business. It all comes down to a simple truth – ordinary people really can do extraordinary things.

South Africa is in the depths of a creeping crisis, one happening ever so slowly, hidden from the public eye until presumably, it is too late. Unfortunately, we know what can happen when the powers managing our national infrastructure fail to face a problem from the start. In the energy supply situation, Eskom failed to heed early warnings; failed in its maintenance; failed to retain the skills needed; failed in its management and thus, led us headlong into a national socio-economic crisis, for which we will be paying for years to come.

The early nineties was a time of cyclical downswings. It seemed as if every two years large numbers of industry staff received retrenchment packages and with less and less work floating around, competition was stiff. Unions were holding powerful cards, industrial relations were unhealthy and business was on the back foot. The largest construction industry boom in our country’s history had not even received a flirtatious glance at this point – hardly a time when companies would have been investing in their people.

History has shown that women and men, together, have been creating homes for many years, despite the absence of this traditional partnership in the modern construction industry. Not only does our Constitution require that women be employed in all sectors of the economy but many of South Africa’s organisations are finally building initiatives and mindsets that aim to embrace women in the country’s flourishing construction sector. The eradication of history’s stereotypes is the fuel of transformation.