An investigation of the potential role of physically challenged persons in construction

Abstract

The construction industry contributes to the economy in terms of its labour intensive nature and status as a major employer of labour in many countries. This pivotal role is divided by its unappealing status ofbeing an industrial sector with the lowest level of employment of disabled persons. Despite the South African government's efforts to diversifY the industry's labour force, these have had little concrete effect on changing the demographics of construction especially relative to the representation of minority groups such as women and disabled persons. The industry presents both a challenging and hostile environment and attitudinal barrier for persons with disabilities. They have not been seen as part of the pool of people considered for employment, and when already employed, possible promotion. To change this negative image, conscious measures are necessary to remove barriers. These measures should include a change in leadership style and approach, fundamental change in culture, change in the negative image of the working environment, and full implementation of equal opportunity policies. This paper reports on the employment status of disabled persons within the construction industry. To achieve this, the qualitative methodology was adopted and included surveys, self-administered questionnaires and interviews as well as the quantitative methodology to validate the completeness of data