Assessing The Soft Skills Training Needs Of Owner Managers Of Emerging Construction Firms In The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipal Area, South Africa

Abstract

Literature suggests that just like the so called hard skills, soft skills competencies are essential for the sustainability of small businesses in the construction industry. The identification of the soft skill needs of owner managers of emerging construction firms (hereafter ECFs) in South Africa is therefore essential for the development of effective training curriculum for enhancing the managerial capability hence sustainability of this cohort of businesses in the construction industry. Yet literature review indicates that soft skills training of owner managers of ECFs has been relegated to the periphery in South Africa with focus on the so called hard skills. To bridge this gap, a sample of 100 owner managers of ECFs in the Mangaung Metropolitan Area in South Africa was surveyed to assess their soft skill training needs. Several interesting findings were made. First, the results indicate inadequate soft skill competency among majority of the owner managers. Significant differences were found in soft skills training needs based on certain firm and owner manager demographics. According to the results, the three most preferred training and development modes for owner managers of ECFs in their order of preference are: the face to face contact mode, traditional fully face to face contact mode and the face to face contact flipped classroom mode. The results also showed that training mode preferences among owner managers of ECFs differ in terms of gender, age, educational level and working experience. Based on these and other findings, it is recommended that in order to design training programs that suit the specific personal circumstances of ECFs, demographic characteristics such as gender, age, educational level, working experience, firm age and firm size should be considered.