Equal economic opportunities in the human settlements value chain

people with disabilities, and military veterans through skills development, job opportunities, and support of their businesses and entities,” said Booi.

More than five hundred women have participated in this programme since its inception. It was initially a four-month programme with networking and mentorship support.

As part of its Women Empowerment Programme, the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) partnered with the Gordon Institute of Business Science to develop a programme aimed at enhancing leadership potential and boost business skills for women in the construction industry.

The partnership, which started in 2014, saw 92 women entrepreneurs receiving their certificates after completing their 24-month training in December 2022.

“Through this programme, women entrepreneurs develop their entrepreneurial, business, and leadership skills which enable them to fully operate a successful company,” said the Council in a statement.

NHBRC CEO Songezo Booi says the organisation's social transformation and empowerment programme seeks to address issues related to the advancement of equal economic opportunities in the human settlements value chain to optimise meaningful participation of vulnerable groups.

“Women are under-represented in the construction industry. We aim to bring about transformation by assisting women in developing their entrepreneurial skills, business skills, and leadership skills so they can fully realise and operate profitable businesses,” says Booi.

“We believe that our programme will assist in unlocking obstacles and boost women's empowerment. It will further assert measurable goals for us to achieve on the road to a radically transformed home-building industry,” said Booi.

Transformation agenda

The NHBRC said it will continue to support government initiatives for empowerment and access to economic opportunities.

“With this programme, the NHBRC demonstrates its commitment to the transformation agenda, and elevating the empowerment of women, youth,

It now entails training conducted by leading academics and key influencers in the industry, and is followed by a mentorship programme. Additionally, candidates develop comprehensive business plans and are evaluated for individual and company revenue growth.

The NHBRC, an agency of the Department of Human Settlements, is responsible for the protection of housing consumers and to regulate the home building industry. The council also offers services such as enrolment of new homes, home builder registration, home building inspections, builder training, geotechnical and materials engineering.

Source: DSI and SKAO