(From The Times) Global research commissioned by KPMG reveals that the economic
slowdown has cooled the overheated project market to some extent,
especially for large physical projects.
But the research finds that there are still fundamental problems with undercapacity.
“The performance of many projects has not been good as a
result,” said Jeff Shaw, director for major projects at KPMG. “There is
a shortage of skilled project managers globally, which has been
alleviated only temporarily during the recession.
“We cannot rely on importing skills and it’s still
expensive to cherry- pick, so we have to develop home-grown project
managers.
“There is considerable concern about the industry’s
ability to deliver on infrastructure requirements around the world in
the medium term,” Shaw added.
“Our advice is that if projects repeatedly form part of
your core business you ought to build a core capacity to have internal
skills to deliver. Then, outsource to supplement your capacity during
peaks as a one-off.
“Government is a particularly significant problem area;
our research shows that, globally, 70% of infrastructure providers
(whoever feeds into major projects) cite a lack of government
effectiveness as a major constraint on delivery.”
Shaw said this was not the case in South Africa alone — in the US the rate was 72%.
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Tags: skills, skills shortage, south africa, global business, africa
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