Investigating the causes of skills shortage in South Africa construction industry : a case of artisans

Purpose: The decline in artisans in the construction industry in South Africa has prompted the government to be reactive. The current artisan shortfall is at 46 000. This study explores the causes and the effects of artisan skills shortage in the South African construction industry. Furthermore, it explores possible solution to alleviate the skills shortage in the South African construction industry. Methodology: The research approach used was inductive, using a structured interview. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used, to identify respondents who met the criteria for inclusion in the study and to reach the targeted sample. Finally a total of 17 respondents were interviewed. Each interview took approximately 35 minutes. The data was manually recorded in a notebook. The interviewees refused to be recorded because of the sensitivity of the questions. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings: The causes of skills shortage were established to be: the closing down of artisan training schools, insufficient practical exposure, unattractiveness of being artisans and migration of skilled artisans among others. It was also found that artisan skills shortages had also impacted negatively in the industry in terms of the quality of work produced increased costs of projects, delays and a decline in productivity. Value: The severity of artisan skills shortages in South Africa construction industry, which according to the findings advocates for the reinstating of artisan training institutes. Practical implications: Skilled artisans are critical to the delivery of vision 2030 for infrastructure delivery; hence the continuous training of artisans should be safeguarded