Construction industry trade association Master Builders Association (MBA) North members agree that there is renewed confidence about the future of the Gauteng construction sector, states MBA North executive director Mohau Mphomela.

“Input received from the association’s members seems to endorse the findings of the First National Bank Bureau for Economic Research Construction Confidence Index.

The index, which reflects the state of the construction industry, increased by six points in a 100-point index scale to 51 in the third quarter, compared with 45 in the previous quarter of 2013,” Mphomela says.

“It is clear that our members generally believe that the future of the construction industry now looks more promising than in mid-2013, but it is also clear that they still do not believe the industry is on a sustained growth path. Several factors beyond the construction industry’s control will determine that,” he adds.

MBA North member Tiber Bonvec Construction MD José Correia says that the company believes that the increased confidence in the construction industry over the last few months will continue for the rest of the year, but says it can only comment on the private- sector activity in Johannesburg’s industrial and commercial development market. He adds that there seems to be a lot of activity in these sectors at present, although profit margins are still under pressure.

“This situation is likely to remain, specifically because of some wage agreements concluded in the building industry, which we believe to be on the higher end of the market,” Correia says.

Correia adds that the increased activity could be due to the relocation and geographical positioning of businesses in more prominent nodes for the future, and is not necessarily an indication of real growth.

Meanwhile, MBA North launched a Jobs Portal on its website this month to extend its services to MBA North members and the wider public.

The new Jobs Portal will offer students who have completed their studies the opportunity to post their CVs online for perusal by the association’s members and anyone else visiting the MBA North website, states MBA North education, training and transformation administrator Sarah Mnyandu.

“This will [make] the construction industry [aware of] new and existing talent available. This opportunity is for students who have completed their studies at universities, colleges, technikons or any other training institutions,” she says, adding that employers will then have the opportunity to contact these students directly and invite them for job interviews.

CVs received for inclusion in the Jobs Portal will be categorised according to field, qualifications, degrees and diplomas and will also allow employers to post any staff vacancies they might have, says Mnyandu.

Students and other job seekers will then have the opportunity to apply directly to these employers for the positions listed. These, too, will be sorted into appropriate categories or fields for easy navigation, she adds.

Although the portal is not immediately available or active on the website, MBA North proposes to allow space where interested job seekers and employers can register their career needs, whether seeking or offering jobs, and those registered will then be notified of vacancies available in their field.