The rush to 2010, and the lure of both lucrative jobs abroad and on high-profile projects like the Gautrain will exacerbate the shortage.

So says noted strategist and change management specialist Tony Manning, who will be speaking about SA’s infrastructure challenges and what they mean for the property sector at the 39th annual SAPOA Convention scheduled to be held at Sun City from 16 – 18 May.

“SA has developed a very dangerous belief that anyone can do anything, which is clearly nonsense,” says Manning. “Rebuilding our capability base – and growing it to meet future demands, will take a decade or more.”  This, says Manning, is the South African paradox: “Much may be going extremely well, but a lot is going very badly.”

The stronger SA’s economic growth in the next decade, he argues, the more this country will feel the unanticipated consequences of its transformation.

Take the case of municipal infrastructure. He points to a recent study by the SA Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), which finds that of 231 local municipalities in SA, more than one third do not have a single civil engineer, technologist or technician. There are currently more than 1,000 unfilled vacancies for engineers in local government.

Lack of skills means that SA’s infrastructure will continue to degrade.

“Major projects such as the Gautrain and the 2010 stadiums are drawing huge numbers of skilled professionals away from works projects and private construction.

Vital skills are also being sucked out of SA into places like Dubai.”  He adds that property investors and developers will continue to do what they do well – to pinpoint opportunities and bet on them.

“But again, the skills crunch is likely to put the brakes on some of their plans.”

The theme of this year’s Convention is ‘The Road to 2012 – Masterminding the Next Five Years’ and there is an impressive line-up of local and international experts scheduled to address the audience, including: erstwhile executive vice president of the Trump Organization Carolyn Kepcher; and Romilly Madew, the chief executive of the Green Building Council of Australia, who will be talking about why commercial office developers and landlords went green Down Under.

The 39th annual SAPOA Convention and Property Exhibition, sponsored by Nedbank Corporate, is taking place from 16-18 May 2007 at Sun City. For more information on speakers, registration, and functions.