Just over a year ago I wrote in ConstructAfrica that there’s a lot that is positive in the industry, noting that there was a real appetite to promote professionalism, competence and create a high-quality built environment.

I’m happy to say that meetings with CIOB members and others from the construction community this year, particularly in South Africa, has confirmed that.

I was privileged to spend time in South Africa in 2022 and again this year, talking to members and meeting others from the wider construction community. My visit earlier this year was focussed on understanding more about the education offer for built environment students, accompanied by Rosalind Thorpe, our director of education and standards, and Ntando Khuzwayo, CIOB’s membership and education lead, based in South Africa.

I was impressed at how engaged and committed the students we met were, with an understanding that they can maximise the chances of securing a good job by making the most of the opportunities that a university can provide and by developing their professional networks – for example, many of them have signed up as CIOB Student members and some are now part of our Tomorrow’s Leaders community.

My thanks to, among others, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, a CIOB-accredited centre, and the Tshwane University of Technology. Each institution demonstrated a real commitment to their students and offered a great deal of insight into the issues facing the construction sector.

Following these visits, we spent a week in Cape Town in June for our annual Members’ Forum, which brings together delegates from each of our international Hubs.

We covered a lot of important topics during the week, including a SWOT analysis from each global Hub, all on our key themes – quality and safety, the skills gap and environmental sustainability. This gave a valuable perspective from each global region on the common challenges, with potential solutions and insights into different approaches.

We were also delighted to go on a few site visits, including the V&A Waterfront project to upgrade the area. The hope is that it will bring in tourism and jobs and boost the local economy. I was impressed by the sustainability gains and the ambition to almost create a city within a city.

Our Members’ Forum in Cape Town was also where we held our AGM, with the traditional handover from our President to the new President for the year and this year we welcomed Professor Mike Kagioglou FCIOB into the role.

Mike’s theme for his year as President is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Mike and our head of environmental sustainability, Amanda Williams, are already undertaking a great deal of work to promote, for example, the need for skills to support the climate transition and create a more sustainable built environment. (You can read about some of Amanda’s work in her recent ConstructAfrica article.)

Following our Members’ Forum, I must thank the construction community in South Africa, including all the educational institutes we visited, our friends at the South African Council for Project & Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP), and our members and colleagues based in the region for their support. There was an incredible amount of engagement across the whole week, with the tone set from the start with a wonderfully warm welcome to Cape Town.

It was a positive week of living up to the CIOB purpose of promoting the science and practice of the built environment for public benefit and I left Cape Town feeling inspired and optimistic for the future of our industry.

Caroline Gumble is the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Building.

Photo (Caroline Gumble)