Abstract
With 60% of the population under 25, South Africa's youth endure significant unemployment rates. It is critical to encourage more young entrepreneurs to start enterprises to harness the country's economic potential. South Africa may have a long-term impact on job creation and poverty alleviation by reducing young unemployment, developing the informal economy, creating jobs, and promoting poverty alleviation. Encouraging young people to create businesses and giving them the necessary support will help alleviate poverty and improve socioeconomic situations.
The purpose of this research was to design an entrepreneurial skills framework for the South African construction industry. A cross sectional quantitative survey was undertaken to collect the data from three hundred and seventy-four civil engineers from the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), which is the industry body for civil engineering professionals in South Africa.
Upon analysis, the findings reveal that the project management skills, the leadership and entrepreneurial skills, the entrepreneurial competences, the entrepreneurial intention, and attitude were found to be the most important skills from the South African civil engineers’ perspective, with the main references to the construction engineers. The recommendations of the study that was given highlight the emphasis on equipping the civil engineers with entrepreneurial skills that were outlined and that aim at creating entrepreneurial intention and attitude, with the hope that the skills will create jobs, alleviate poverty, and grow the economy. Entrepreneurship is important in South Africa for economic development, poverty reduction, and economic activity stimulation. Entrepreneurs improve GNP and Per Capita Income by starting new enterprises, identifying market possibilities, and allocating resources wisely. This not only provides income but also job opportunities and the development of new markets, products, and services.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, job creation, poverty alleviation, civil engineering, sustainable development.