Choosing to be a craftsperson: factors influencing career decision-making among apprentices

Abstract

Purpose Human resource contributes significantly to the outcome of construction projects. In recent years, apprenticeship programs are being implemented to train young people to address shortage of skills workers and ageing workforce problem. This study aims to understand the factors influencing career decisions among apprentices in the construction sector. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was used to address the objectives of the study. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insights into the reason why young people decide to participate in construction craftsperson apprenticeship in Nigeria. Findings The study reveals that “interest and passion”, “role model”, “macroeconomic environment and government policies”, “spirit of entrepreneurship”, “formal, informal and non-formal education” and “family socioeconomic status” are the factors influencing career decisions among construction craftspeople. Originality/value The study provides fresh insights that can be used to develop strategies for attracting and increasing the number of young people that sign up for construction craftspeople apprenticeships. The apprentice training programmes are essential for addressing labour shortage, which is one of the factors affecting the performance of construction projects.

The built environment craftmanship in higher education institutions: issues and prospects from stakeholders' perception

“…Past governments have attempted to mitigate graduate unemployment via various policies and programmes tailored towards skills development for job creation, such as N-Build scheme, N-Power, artisanal skills development academy, etc., but failed because of inadequate funding and the absence of an institutional framework for consistency and sustainability (P4, P9, P11, P15, P17, & P20-P23). Findings agree with Evawoma-Enuku and Mgbor (2005) and Osuizugbo et al . (2022).…”

“…(2017), Craig and Bewick (2017), Asiyanbola (2018), QAA (2019), Sambe (2019), Smith et al . (2021) and Osuizugbo et al . (2022) have worked directly or indirectly on craftmnship.…”

Academic performance, family support, interest and career decision among undergraduate students in Nigeria

“…This study found a positive correlation between academic reason and career decision of undergraduate students in Nigeria. This result is similar to Ulas-Kilic et al (2020) and Osuizugbo et al (2022), which found that academic satisfaction played significant role in determining students' career decisions. This finding indicates that students choose their careers based on their academic achievements or performances.…”

“…In reality, good academic grades are required for good jobs such as medical doctor, computer science, engineering, etc. Furthermore, other research has shown that academic achievement has an impact on students' career choices (Kocak et al, 2021;Lu et al, 2022;Osuizugbo et al, 2022;Ulas-Kilic et al, 2020). The present study tends to find out that academic performance has a relationship with career decisionmaking.…”

Explore Skilled Labour Shortage of Carpenters in Sri Lanka: Through the Lens of Participants Employed in Furniture Manufacturing Industry

“…The prior studies [13,14], specifically in Sri Lanka, concerned on the labour shortage mainly in construction industry due to having substantial investments on large scale capital projects such as high-rise buildings, renovation of airports, ports, roads, highways, land reclamation, water and sanitation [7]. However, furniture manufacturing industry, which is historically valued and has a potential to generate attractive export earnings [11], has received less attention on its labour shortage issues.…”