Martin Lekarapa

Informal Social Networks in the South African Construction Industry: Artisans in the Western Cape Martin Lekarapa

Informal social networks among the construction craftworkers from various ethnic groups create barriers of entry to crafts men entering the Constuction Industry in the Western Cape, South Africa. This book investigates how informal social networks found in three construction sites in an ethnically diverse area, can bring economic exclusions and promote inequality in terms of accessibility to social economic resources. Data was collected using Social Network Analysis (SNA) method, through the egocentric approach. Data analysis was done with the use of the social network analysis program UCINET. Findings from the three case studies showed that the accessibility of job information is through the informal social networks formed among the construction artisans, foremen including construction managers. Moreover, artisans from these sites were mostly friends and neighbours of the same race which suggests that their social relations facilitated the transfer of information concerning job opportunities.