The demand for skilled artisans such as carpenters, toolmakers, fitters, joiners or mechanics grown in South Africa, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, says Arjun Khoosal, co-founder of Kandua an online marketplace for home services.
However, there is a scarcity of individuals trained and qualified to meet that demand, he said.
Citing data from Manpower Group’s talent shortage survey and the national list of occupations in high demand, Khoosal said that demand for these services is likely to grow because of their evergreen demand.
“This is quite a cycle-resilient market, especially for those artisan-based businesses that serve homeowners or other small businesses. There will always be something broken in need of fixing, or features that need an upgrade”.
“There has also been a definite upward trend in the home improvement sector since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Khoosal. “In the last year, for instance, demand for renovators has doubled.”
Khoosal said that Kandua has seen a 750% increase in demand for home services over the last year, with the most demand for:
- Movers;
- Carpenters;
- Plumbers;
- Renovators;
- Rubble Removers;
- Landscapers;
- Handymen;
- Panel Beaters;
- Welders;
- Builders.
The vast majority of the services on Kandua’s platform are provided by small businesses or independent contractors, Khoosal said.
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