One of the challenges faced by many government decision-makers today relates to the need for a construction development programme that comprehensively addresses the challenges faced in delivery of building and infrastructure projects. Investment into such programmes should be justified and measured by increased contractor capacity to execute projects and grow their businesses. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) intends to develop and pilot an emerging contractor development programme with the assistance of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). In implementing the project, the CSIR and the ECDC will assume the role of the project managers, responsible for planning, executing and coordinating the entire training and mentorship programme. Suitably qualified training providers and mentors have been sourced from private enterprises and individuals. Sixty contractors throughout the province will be selected to form part of the program. Training providers and mentors will provide high quality inputs to enable a group of selected contractors to be assessed and accredited by the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) in terms of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). This dissertation addresses the requirements that an integrated development model needs to be effective in terms of emerging contractors’ further development and sustainable growth.

The objective of this research was to establish a means to assist, and ultimately encourage, small and micro building contractors to develop and submit a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) that both qualifies for levy grant recovery and provides strategic value to the organisation. Targeted contractors are those who do not have the know-how necessary to develop such a WSP. Thus the need for a basic approach or model that will, through its simplicity and ease of application, assist and encourage such contractors nonetheless to undertake the process. Achieving this objective required a detailed examination of relevant literature and legislation, to identify the basic or minimum requirements for developing a strategic WSP and for meeting grant recovery regulations respectively. Newly released grant recovery regulations were examined to identify the implications thereof, and to establish the minimum legislative requirements, for the WSPs of small and micro contractors. Existing relevant general training and training needs assessment models were examined to identify the requirements for developing a strategic WSP. To establish the minimum strategic requirements it was necessary to firstly identify all the requirements proposed by the different models for identifying and meeting the training needs of an organisation, and thereafter reach a decision regarding which could be considered as minimum requirements. The decision rule for selection as a minimum strategic requirement was inclusion in all the surveyed models. To enable a less subjective analysis than relying solely on the opinion of the researcher, a content analysis was selected as the research technique, as the steps of a typical content analysis include a number of measures to increase objectivity. The legislative and strategic requirements identified by the study were converted into a series of simple sequential action steps to formulate a practical model that would guide the targeted contractors through the process of developing a value-adding WSP.

Thesis (Master of Construction)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Emerging contractors have relished greater privileges since the first democratically elected government in South Africa came into power in 1994 but are faced with numerous challenges. The government has placed numerous resources, ranging from training and development programmes, enabling legislative laws and regulations in an attempt to address these challenges and to turn emerging contractors to sustainable contractors. Knowledge transfer through training of emerging contractors, either from established contractors in a project set-up or training providers in a class room, has being recognised as the most effective mechanisms for development and growth of the emerging contractors. This study focuses on latter mechanism of emerging contractor development. The intended training outcomes of the structured training offered to emerging contractors by training providers in a class room set-up, remains and they experience several obstacles. This research focuses on a particular contractor development programme to investigate the effectiveness Western Cape Contractor Development Programme training programme and subsequently to enhance the training programme. The study focuses on specific aspects of training which researcher feels that they were significant: to explore the nature of existing TNA offered at Western Cape Contractor Development Programme , to investigate the trainer’s competences required in the WCCDP structured training, to examine the existing monitoring and evaluation indicators used to gauge the effectiveness of the Western Cape Contractor Development Programme structured training offered to emerging contractors and to explore the assessment strategies used at the Western Cape Contractor Development Programme, in order to measure the trainees’ learning. The study adopted a case study approach since it dealt with a particular contractor development programme in Western Cape, South Africa. A triangulation of both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to answer the research questions, achieve the research objectives and overcome matters with validity and bias. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the programme coordinators, service provider trainer, service provider facilitator and service provider project manager. A total of 50 self-administered closed-ended questionnaires were distributed to gather data from trainees, only 35 were handed back to the researcher representing a response rate 70%.Therefore a purposive sampling was adopted. To corroborate empirical data collected an observation of the training was conducted. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data; descriptive and inferential statics using the SPSS software was used quantitative data. The findings from the study revealed that the Western Cape Contractor Development Programme has lack of comprehensive managerial training needs analaysis approach, no measurable indicators established for monitoring and evaluation; programme has no competency assessment or screening process and lack of adequate knowledge on assessment design and implementation. Therefore, this is largely responsible for the problems at Western Cape Contractor Development Programme and has a negative impact on the programme. It is evident from the findings of the study that Western Cape Contractor Development Programme must develop a comprehensive and formal training needs analysis process to identify the actual needs, design and implement a proper measurable indicators for the monitoring and evaluation system in order to monitor the progress of the programme, training policies and objectives must be revisited for amend, tighten seriously, implemented and monitored regularly with all the concerned stakeholders, develop a trainer competency screening process and appoint a training expert to ensure that relevant assessment strategies are used for assessing the trainees and ensure that desired training outcomes and objectives are achieved to enhance the programme.