Assessment of Skills and Competencies of Built Environment Graduates

Abstract

It has been established that there exist discrepancies between the skills requirements of industries and the acquired skills of university graduates in the labour market from the employers of labour in the Nigerian construction industry. Consequentially, graduates are forced to accept inferior jobs so as to enter the job market. The study assessed the critical factors influencing the skills and competencies expected of built environment graduates in construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria. Quantitative research was adopted using structured questionnaire administered on 159 respondents at a response rate of 83.56%. Analysis of data was undertaken using frequency count, percentage and Mean Item Score (MIS). Findings from the study revealed that the: most important barrier to the development of skills and competencies for built environment graduates was “financial difficulty” (MIS = 4.85); most significant driver for the development of skills and competencies for built environment graduates is “Individual resources” (MIS = 4.85); labour market opportunities (MIS = 4.76); and labour market structure (MIS = 4.56); current level of skills and competencies offered by the graduates of built-environment professions are moderately significant (average MIS = 3.51); and most important roles of professional associations in the development of skills and competencies of built environment graduates was “Using course accreditation processes to ensure that University programme design focuses on the development of professionals rather than using a strictly curriculum-driven approach” (MIS = 4.76). It was concluded that the critical factors influencing the skills and competencies expected of built environment graduates in construction firms in Abuja are significant. It was thus recommended that more attention should be focused more to address the barriers and uphold the drives identified so as to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and professional practice.