But many only speak their native language, creating complex communication barriers on worksites where teamwork, safety and clear understanding are a necessity.

Making 2.9 million minority language speaking labourers almost un-hireable.

AfriSam, South Africa's largest construction materials supplier recognises that 62% of the construction sectors market share opportunity sits within small-to-medium sized projects where on-site labourers and managers make the decision of which products to use.

AfriSam has thus committed ongoing investment in building brand affinity within this audience utilising and strengthening its brand purpose of 'Creating ConcretePossibilities’.

Following this objective, AfriSam sought an innovative solution that would decrease the work opportunity inequality foreign national labourers face just because of the language they speak and grow it's brand affinity within this target audience.

Solution:?The Vluit Project is an experiential new way of standardising communication for minority language speaking labourers to successfully communicate on worksites, using the cultural phenomenon of the Vluit.

A social behaviour originating within black South African communities that uses the human whistle to create unique sounds as informal exclamations.

A learnable library of researched and carefully created and collated 'vluits' available to on worksites for foreign national labourers to use to communicate, and be communicated with.

This supplements the spoken word in an aim to create better work flow and equal work opportunities for the many workers who are not fluent in a majority language within South Africas blue collar workforce.

We turned labour sites into branded audio experiences with our functional, real-world utility audio content, helping foreign national labourers overcome language barriers on worksites through the simple use of unique and universally understandable sounds.

Interim Impact: The Vluit Project has seen over 6000 downloads from its library within the first 2 weeks of launch, taken up by 42 labour sites in support of The Vluit Project and making it a part of their ways of working and communicating on site.

This has subsequently impacted over 2800 labourers on active work sites and counting, as The Vluit Project continues to be supported by worksites nationwide.

Ultimately seeing an increase in brand affinity by 13% thus far.

Future implementation: South Africa's blue collar workforce spans across 4 major sectors: Construction, Mining, Agriculture and Manufacturing. AfriSam's immediate contribution through The Vluit Project extends into the construction sector, simply due to it being the brands core sector.

Whilst further growth for The Vluit Project within this sector is still hugely possible, AfriSam aims to leverage its corporate relationships and partnerships with South Africa's other 3 major sectors to find further scalability for The Vluit Project.

This ongoing initiative aims to see blue colour worksites across all 4 major sectors utilise The Vluit Project, to ensure minority language speaking labourers across all major sectors experience work opportunities with the barrier of language removed.

Inevitably resulting in more inclusive blue collar sectors, whilst contributing to a reduced unemployment rate for Foreign National labourers who all have the ability to help us build South Africa – together.