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The informal construction sector in Sweetwaters, KwaZu- lu-Natal, South Africa: A profile
The informal construction sector accounted for 17% (or 173) of the businesses included in the 2017-2018 Innovation in the Informal Sector Survey, and men owned 72% of the businesses. The age of these businesses ranged from less than a year to between three and five years. Their primary offerings were diverse, encompassing a wide range of construction services including bricklaying,
carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, tiling, plastering, painting, fencing, welding, roofing, boiler making, and the production of aluminium windows, doors, and mud-blocks. Informal construction workers possess diverse skills, such as landscaping, bricklaying, plumbing, painting, tiling, and welding. Qualitative data shows that informal construction workers learned these skills by developing them independently, attending formal training, receiving parental instruction, or observing others Figure 3.
Figure 3: How Informal builders acquire construction skills in Sweetwaters, KwaZulu-Natal Data source: CeSTII 2017-18 IIS Survey (CeSTII 2021)
In South Africa, most informal construction workers learn their skills informally on the job, rather than through formal training programmes (Wachira et al. 2006). This informal learning is often limited to basic skills and does not provide opportunities for further development (Mbunda et al. 2020; Wachira et al. 2006). Many informal construction business owners have only completed a junior certificate (41%) or a school leaving certificate (34%) (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Education- al profile of informal construction sector in Sweetwaters Data source: CeSTII 2017-18 IIS Survey (CeSTII 2021)
Proceedings of the conference on Public innovation, develoPment and sustainability | 209