South Africa, still very young in its democracy, has undergone numerous changes, both in terms of government and its economy. The new government with its challenge of righting the wrongs that apartheid left behind has bought about sweeping policy changes. Amongst these changes, was the implementation of new strategies in government's expenditure regarding infrastructure development. In addition, to address the transformation issue of improving representation, job opportunities and income amongst the previously disadvantage people, government brought about the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and the Affirmative Action (AA) policies. These changes have arguably had more of a negative impact than a positive one, especially concerning civil engineering professionals in both the private and public sector. This dissertation discusses the above policies and the effects upon the demand and supply of civil engineers, technologists and technicians in South Africa. Since 1994 the South African government has steadily increased its budget towards infrastructure development. The recession during the seventies and eighties has created major problems with regards to secession planning which has resulted in the high skills shortage within this industry. The other factor that has contributed heavily to the skills shortage is the implementation of BEE and AA, as many civil professionals have left the industry or the country. The increase in infrastructure development in South Africa highlights the shortage of civil engineering professionals and the supply issues associated with perceptions within the industry coupled with the poor maths and science marks of matriculants not meeting the minimum university or technikon entry requirements. The trend at eThekwini municipality shows that there are more technicians and technologists than engineers. The municipality is finding it difficult to employ engineers as there are few in the industry and that, private firms are offering them much higher salaries. The results of the research show that both job satisfaction and salaries are important issues for civil engineering professionals that are currently in the industry. In addition, a small percentage indicated their willingness to leave the country due to the high crime rate, safety for their family and high salaries being offered abroad. - / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2007.

A persistent theme over the past year in public discussion has been the state of skills in the South African economy and society (DoL, 2003:1). The DoL (2005:55) further states that the issue of "scarce skills" has become a key government priority. It is now generally accepted that skills shortages in key occupational areas are hindering future economic growth (DoL, 2005:55). Within the civil engineering industry in South Africa recent studies have found that there has been a slow decline in the number of civil engineering professionals since the seventies and early eighties; all sectors in the industry have reported staff shortages, particularly of experienced midcareer professionals; staff utilisation rates are over 90% on average and in excess of 100% in many firms and there is a critical shortage of experienced civil professionals responsible for production work (Lawless, 2005 and SAACE, 2005). Some of the reasons cited for the skills shortages and skills gaps include poor quality of both secondary and tertiary education, inadequate training provided by employers, the overall unattractiveness of civil engineering due to relatively lower salaries being paid as compared to other professions and working conditions and emigration (for various reasons). The primary aim of the study was to investigate the impact skills shortages have had on client satisfaction within Stewart Scott International (SSI), a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy firm, in KwaZulu-Natal. Thereafter, from the findings of the research, identify specific areas of dissatisfaction ( from SSI's clients' perspective) and develop short to medium term strategies to better manage the situation, it being noted that addressing the root causes of skills shortages and skills gaps requires long term interventions. The research also sought to assess from SSI's clients' whether they believed any decline in their satisfaction levels was as a result of skills shortages in the industry. The data collection instrument used in the study was a structured questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent to clients with whom SSI had been doing business with for at least five years. The study found three areas of concern in SSI's quality of service (which clients' believed were as a result of skills shortages), viz SSI's approach to work, SSI's creativity in proposed solutions and SSI's approach in dealing with problems in relationships with clients. The findings of the research are similar to the findings of the NACI ( 2003) in SA and Mills and Treagust (2003) in Australia. The study further found empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that the levels of skills and levels of client satisfaction are related. The research found that: • There has been a decline in SSI's approach to work • There has been a decline in SSI's creativity in proposed solutions • There has been a decline in the manner and time frames SSI deals with problems in relationships The following are recommended: • More efficient use of resources (short-term) • Coaching and training initiatives be reviewed and formalised (short-term) • Develop a new skills management specification (medium-term) in / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Durban University of Technology. Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Insolvency may be broadly defined as an inability of business entity to meet pending financial commitments. For a construction firm, such a situation creates conditions whereby a business entity is unable to fulfill its contractual obligations with regard to work in progress or creditors owing. There are indications to suggest that during periods of adverse conditions the occurrences of insolvencies are mutually exclusive and remain a subject of debate. The occurrence of these financial failures adversely affect business concerns operating within the civil engineering construction industry. In South Africa, figures released by the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC) in 1992 suggested an expected general decline in workload handled by this sector. This was a result of scaling down of heavy infrastructure projects because of government shifting focus to housing and other related projects mainly towards meeting the needs of the previously disadvantaged communities. During that period large contractors suffered financially and some went through insolvency. The government had also put emphasis on transformation of the sector to allow participation of emerging and small contractors, but this was not properly regulated, so most of these contractors did not have the experience and skills to operate sustainable construction firms. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was established in 2000 as a statutory body to provide leadership to stakeholders and to stimulate sustainable growth, reform and improvement of the construction public sector for effective delivery and the industry’s enhanced role in the country’s economy. The CIDB’s regulations were implemented after 2003 and are continuously improving the construction public sector’s growth. This research study investigated and evaluated the factors associated with insolvencies amongst civil engineering contractors in KwaZulu-Natal. The study investigated the hypotheses that “the prominent factors associated with civil engineering contractors insolvencies are related to managerial/operational issues”, the prominent factors associated with civil engineering contractors insolvencies are related to financial issues”, “South African government initiatives create an environment for small to medium contractors to develop through their implementation”, and good management and operation of small to medium construction companies reduce insolvency in construction”. Operational management and strategic factors were found to be amongst the leading causes of companies failures. The study also made some recommendations from the research findings. The findings are relevant to the South African government infrastructure service delivery programs and the general issue of affordable infrastructure services. / M