Much-needed training provided to local contractors

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BUSINESS NEWS - Tusk Construction Support Services, in collaboration with their business partners, Builders and Standard Bank, offered a training programme in Mossel Bay for a group of 23 local small contractors.

The training was made possible by the collective contributions of the Mossel Bay Municipality, Tusk CSS, Builders, Standard Bank and Ruwacon, a South African construction company – currently the main contractor of the housing project on Louis Fourie Road.

Tusk CSS is a national company with a strong presence in the Southern Cape.

The training programme was specially tailored for CIDB Level 1 contractors. CIDB stands for Construction Industry Development Board.

Contractors in South Africa must be registered with the CIDB and the level of the contractor is determined by its turnover.

There are three phases to the training programme implemented by Tusk CSS. The first phase spanned more than four weeks, with the contractors completing one module of course content daily for the duration of the programme.

Typical modules included construction trades, with local companies Betcrete and Mobicast presenting their respective modules.

Focus was also placed on how to grow a construction business, with modules covering topics such as the construction legal framework, material procurement process, business and financial management, the tender process, the certification of work, site management, programming and budget control. The training programme was facilitated by Charoné Klopper, a civil engineer at Tusk CSS.

From the 23 contractors – men and women, a number were selected to continue with a mentorship programme.

Six were chosen for building and three for civil works. They are working on the housing construction site on Louis Fourie Road.

Klopper said: "Training is vitally important.

"In the current economic climate, many small construction companies do not have the chance to upskill themselves in order to grow.

"Tusk CSS is pleased to have been able to provide this opportunity to transfer skills."

Certificates of completion.