SA Affordable Housing September - October 2016 // Issue: 60 | Page 6

NEWS

Bricklaying training schools
upskill construction workers
Corobrik has opened a new bricklaying training centre at its
Lawley factory in Gauteng, one of three countrywide that provide
opportunities for unskilled South Africans to acquire the fundamental
expertise they need to secure work in the building industry.

M

ore than 2 000 people have already graduated
from the company’s training schools in Durban and
Cape Town and at their former Midrand facility.

“Skills development remains a key priority in South Africa
and Corobrik is committed to playing a meaningful role in
this process,” says Berkley Petty, human resources
development manager for the brick manufacturer, which
has been in operation for more than a century.
“Corobrik’s three building training centres are designed to
provide unskilled workers in both the public and private
sectors with recognised qualifications in bricklaying,
block-laying and segmental paving disciplines, providing
fundamental skills to the construction industry.”

Delegates who participated in the first bricklaying training
course held at the new Corobrik bricklaying training centre at
its Lawley factory in Gauteng.

The Corobrik training centres offer a variety of courses
ranging from basic bricklaying to learnerships. The
bricklaying training centres are accredited by the
Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) and
run NQF accredited courses. Training is conducted in
groups, both at the centre and on-site, combining theory
with practical implementation.
A number of major construction companies as well as the
Department of Public Works and Transport have enrolled
learners onto Corobrik’s bricklayer training programmes.
The progress and skills levels of each student are
monitored and recorded - during both their theoretical and
practical training. Those with strong technical aptitudes
and those who show initiative are encouraged to go
further with their training.
“Once they have completed the courses, the learners are
in a better position to find gainful employment with
government or construction companies and many have
gone on to establish their own enterprises,” Petty says.
The Corobrik Bricklaying Centres are not run on a profit
basis but rather to cover costs so as to help make the
training affordable to the learners.
According to Petty, it is all about helping people attain the
skills they need to earn a living. This is in line with
government’s appeal for business, labour and
communities to work together to help meet the New

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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2016

AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING

The interior of the new Corobrik bricklaying training centre at
the Lawley factory.

Growth Path objective of creating 5 million jobs by 2020
and reducing the unemployment rate to 15%.
“The building training centres are also an integral element
of Corobrik’s multi-faceted Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment initiatives to help lay the foundation for a
prosperous future for South Africa.”
The Durban training centre is situated at Corobrik’s Avoca
factory, the Cape Town facility recently moved to a site
adjacent to the company’s modern new Lansdowne centre
in Springfield, and the Gauteng school has moved from
Midrand to Lawley which is more accessible to the
learners.