Whenever there is a big construction project in Belize, we tend to overlook the most important aspect, aside from the fact that it is our tax dollars that will eventually pay the foreign loan. What about the jobs and the skills training that should impact our Belizean unemployed youth?
The massive Mollejon, Chalilo and Vaca dam projects, for example, drew employees from thousands of miles across the ocean, while our Belizean youth were left in the depressed villages, towns and the City on the excuse that they lacked the necessary skills. That’s why they should be trained.
There are massive construction projects going on in Belize City, and many have gone before, but few City based youth of dark complexion are seen working in these projects.
We tend to by-pass real opportunities to assist the people who need help the most, and then lament and criticize when the crime and violence continues to escalate.
The fifa.com article below gives an insight on avenues of real progress, even through sports.
2010 stadium creates thousands of jobs
Fifa.com (LOC) Wednesday 7 January 2009
The new Green Point stadium is not only altering the city’s skyline and providing Cape Town with a valuable new asset – it is also creating thousands of new jobs, with a positive spin-off for the city’s economy.
According to a special report prepared for Council, 2,143 on-site jobs have been created to construct the stadium, and 1,179 artisans have received training from the contractors, which will stand them in good stead even after construction of the stadium is complete.
This has had a significant impact on skills creation, reducing unemployment, and boosting the local economy.
The 68 000-seater stadium, which will host eight games during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, including a semi-final, is on track for completion in December 2009.
The contractor, a joint venture between Murray & Roberts and WBHO, currently has 1,271 staff and 872 contractors employed on site.
Of these, 99 percent are local residents, 88 percent are black, and 35 percent are under 35 years of age. Four percent are women.
There is also significant Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) involvement from local companies, with 57 percent of procurement on the stadium having been sourced from BEE companies, and 65 percent from SMME’s. Ninety percent of the procurement is from suppliers within the municipal area.
As part of its overall broad-based BEE programme, the contractor has established an on-site training centre to develop the skills and abilities of all the employees not only to enhance their performance, but also to assist in advancing their careers within the industry.
This includes the training and qualification of tradesmen as steelfixers, shutterhands, scaffold erectors, concrete hands, bricklayers, plasterers, crane operators and health and safety officers. There is also ABET (Adult Basic Education Training); computer skills training; construction supervisor training and management development and training for workers on site.
Programmes are also in place for the training of undergraduates and graduates in relevant construction related qualifications, such as civil and building.
All the training is accredited to the relevant SETAs, or sector education and training authorities.
For Similo Baba, who works as a supervisor at the construction site, this is a dream job. “When I’m asleep I’m still thinking of the bricks and the concrete,” he jokes.
Although he’s been in the industry for over 30 years, he has received additional training for this project, and says it’s good to see lots of young people being trained.
“We are all very glad to have these jobs, it’s good for our families,” he says.
“It’s so exciting to be part of this, I’m really proud of the stadium, and am looking forward to 2010. I want to see Zidane playing here,” he enthuses, although the mercurial Frenchman’s long ago hung up his boots.
An added incentive for the construction workers is that they will each receive two free World Cup tickets, courtesy of FIFA and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.
Local charities have also benefited from the stadium construction, with the contractor making monetary donations to local charities as a result of the contract.