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Keywords Construction management, Graduates, Skills
Abstract Considering the diversity of employment opportunities for construction management graduates, they increasingly need to have a portfolio of skills to work effectively and efficiently with other professions in the industry. In exploring this, tries to determine if construction management graduates are meeting the expectations of their employers. In considering the competitive forces impacting on the construction industry, seeks to establish whether construction managers are able to identify those key skills needed for the future success of the industry. In turn, this information is considered critical for the successful formulation of curricula. Therefore, to establish whether construction management graduates are meeting the expectations of contractors, a survey was distributed to managers to establish their expectations and observations of recent graduates. The survey results indicate that managers are generally satisfied with the skill level of graduate students. The survey also highlighted several important skills that were considered to be lacking in graduates. Acknowledging that there is always a need to improve the skill level of graduates, proposes a number of recommendations that are considered to improve the content of construction management curricula.
Introduction
The unique structure of the construction industry, coupled with the challenges of global competitiveness and changing regulatory requirements have created the need for highly educated and competent construction management graduates. Essential personal attributes that are sought by potential employers include intelligence, flexibility, adaptiveness, and the ability to deal with uncertainty and rapid change. Construction management graduates are employed in various organisations in the construction industry, such as building and civil engineering contracting, construction and project management consulting, client organisations (public and private) and developer organisations. Considering the diversity of employment opportunities, construction management graduates need to be equipped with key skills that are necessary to be able to work effectively and efficiently with other professions in the industry.
The objective of the research presented in this paper is to determine if graduates were meeting the expectations of their employers. Bearing in mind the dynamic forces impacting on the industry, the study sought to establish whether construction managers are able to identify key skills needed by graduates for future success, and whether these graduates are meeting the expectations of contractors. This information is regarded as critical for...