248 YOUTHS TRAINED AS BUILDING INSPECTORS

The Institute of Building Inspectors introduced 248 recently-trained building inspectors to the construction industry.

According to the Institute of Building Inspectors, the young newly-trained building inspectors are armed with a rare, much-needed skill and have already started making a difference in service delivery in the respective Municipalities and government departments that they are working at.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons With Disabilities (DWYPD) Mmapaseka Steve Letsike address the 248 trained building inspectors

The new inspectors have been trained in order to position them as part of the solution to the growing national challenges of building collapses, construction defects and regulatory non-compliance within “the built environment.”

The Building Inspectors programme aims to empower young people by equipping them with the necessary skills and qualifications that will enable them to participate in the built environment, including serving as consultants to home buyers as the Property Practitioners Act requires that every property sold or rented out must have its defects disclosed.

“The trained building inspectors possess the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct building defects assessments regarding property transactions as well,” read the statement released by the Institute of Building Inspectors.

The event to introduce the young building inspectors was held at the Brixton Multi-Purpose Centre (opposite the Brixton Police Station) on Thursday.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons With Disabilities (DWYPD) Mmapaseka Steve Letsike gave details of the impact made by the Institute of Building Inspectors programme since its inception in June 2023.

Sethu Loyilane of the Institute of Building Inspectors said the following:

“Today we are celebrating and honouring the achievements of young people of Gauteng who were funded under the Nasispane programme which was launched in June 2023 by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, and the programme has trained 248 young building inspectors who are ready to service the communities of Gauteng by assisting housing consumers when they buy houses by giving them (consumers) the true condition of the house that they are buying or selling.”

One of the youths who received training as a building inspector, 32-year-old Jane Mabe told Tshwane Talks that building inspectors’ training programme taught her about the national building regulations which must be followed when dealing with substructures.

“Substructure refers to a building’s foundation and a building inspector must get down to the foundation and ascertain whether all the rules regarding construction of a foundation have been adhered to,” said Mabe.

Tshegofatso Manong (34) who was also trained in the programme, told Tshwane Talks that the programme benefited him a lot as he would be able to change people’s lives and the standards of the building construction industry.

“Through our work as building inspectors under the City of Tshwane Municipality we have already helped several people from paying more than they should pay when buying a house and being taken advantage of,” he said.