Civil Engineering August 2022 | Vol 30 No 7

I n Br i ef Building industry pioneer passes away E unice Forbes, the first woman to serve as president of a national construction association, has passed away at the age of 80. Forbes was president of Gauteng Master Builders Association (now MBA North) from 2004 to 2006 and president of Master Builders SA (MBSA) from 2007 to 2009. She was awarded Honorary Life Membership of MBA North in 2014. Founder and owner of Fintrex, Sandton-based sports track and flooring specialists, Forbes was passionate about reducing unemployment and poverty, and fought for increased training in the building industry and transformation, urging established contractors to help the emerging sector. She also took up the challenge to combat increasing lack of ethics and corruption, compromised health and safety, delayed payments, AIDS- awareness, and industry apathy about the power of unity. Her work in cementing ties between MBSA and its counter- parts in the rest of Africa – through her close association and later representing MBSA at the African Federation for Construction Contractors Association – led to the African body’s Executive Bureau meeting in South Africa for the first time in its history. Forbes, who overcame polio and a curvature of the spine in her youth, was also a fighter for equal rights for women and the disabled. Despite severe mobility issues in later life, Forbes managed to be a member or hold executive positions in Nafcoc-JCCI, SA Women in Construction, SABS, Construction Sector Charter Council of the Department of Public Works, and the BUSA National Disability Task Team. Mohau Mphomela, Executive Director of MBA North, organised the first memorial service staged by the association to honour Forbes on 30 June 2022. “Our tribute was to acknowledge ‘an Iron Lady’ who spent almost a lifetime serving the MBA and the entire building and construction in- dustry. Since I became the first black Executive Director of MBA North in over 115 years Eunice, over the past 10 years, ensured that I received all the support and guidance required for my work,” he said. Mphomela told the gathering at the memorial service, “I am, because she was.”  Call for youth to pursue careers in the built environment W hile South Africa is ranked number one out of the top 10 countries with the highest unemployment rates globally , the Master Builders’ Association Western Cape (MBAWC) notes that there is a shortfall of 40 000 skilled artisans in the country. This shortfall could be addressed if young people pursued careers in industries that require skills such as plumbing, building and carpentry. Over the past four years many qualified and experienced artisans have retired and left the industry. The lower number of new entrants has resulted in a shortfall. “This is a concern, not only for the MBAWC, but for the construction sector and country as a whole, as the built environment is a huge contributor to the country’s economy,” says Letitia van Rensburg, Training Officer at the MBAWC. MBAWC has noted that many young people may not be aware of the career opportunities offered to artisans (such as carpenters, plumbers or joiners). This means that there is an immediate need for associations such as the MBAWC, the Department of Basic Education and the government to educate young people about career opportunities available within the built environment. Some inroads have been made with the introduction of the A21 pro- gramme, but there is still a lot of work to do to close the skills gap. Training a qualified artisan takes between three and five years and it takes about 10 years to qualify as a master artisan. The MBAWC has several training programmes aimed at empowering and upskilling young people. One of the best performing training programmes is the Apprentice Training Programme, which is particularly tailored for young people between the ages of 18 and 32 years. The purpose of the programme is to ensure that young people can be placed into the industry as qualified artisans. “As the MBAWC, we are focused on providing learning op- portunities for young people, but we need more young people to join and grow in the field. Many retired artisans are willing to mentor new entrants who have a passion for working with their hands. Our young people need to understand that a career that requires one to do physical labour is just as important and rewarding as a career that requires one to work on a PC behind a desk,” notes van Rensburg.  Eunice Forbes, the first woman to serve as president of a national construction association 44 August 2022 Civil Engineering Training a qualified artisan takes between three and five years