Understanding the key competencies of market-ready building surveying graduates from employers’ perspectives

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the various competencies a graduate should hold to prepare them for graduate building surveying roles from employers’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sequential exploratory mixed-method approach by informing a quantitative study with the finding from a qualitative study. Findings Based on exploratory factor analysis, the study found that 13 essential competencies are valued by the employers when recruiting building surveying graduates, as they are requisites for effective job performance. Personal management skills, technical surveying knowledge and knowledge of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor standards are the essential competencies based on the level of variance extracted by the three components. Other competency categories include client management skills, being goal-driven and self-motivated, optimistic personality traits, strong mental resilience, building maintenance and management knowledge and time management skills, among others that are explained in the paper. Originality/value The essential competencies were dependent on maintaining a balance between knowledge, skills and personality-based competencies. Measures and approaches for gaining the essential competencies, as well as their level of significance, are further discussed. The study will be of significant benefits to employers of graduate building surveyors, academic institutions that are seeking to improve their graduate employability, as well as students who are preparing for the world of work.

Preparing Indonesian civil engineering graduates for the world of work

“…The questionnaire was administered online using Google Forms, a free online platform that facilitates questionnaire sharing through links and emails to prospective participants. The platform also facilitates the aggregation of responses into an Excel sheet for easy export into SPSS, an advanced statistical analysis tool (Zaheer et al, 2020).…”

“…While academic institutions have their ways of setting the competency levels expected of their graduates and tailor teaching activities to inculcate those competencies in the students, academic experience often fails to provide the right skillsets for graduates (Zaheer et al, 2020). Owusu-Manu et al (2014) suggest that inadequate collaboration between universities, employers and professional accreditation bodies is to blame.…”

“…This is especially the case as most construction companies have set their own criteria for employment assessment, which are harmonised with their expectations when recruiting civil engineering graduates. Therefore, understanding the competencies expected of graduates from the employer's perspective is important for universities that want to enhance their graduates' employability as well as for students who aim to be competitive in the job market (Zaheer et al, 2020).…”

Investigating digital technological competencies amongst black Asian minority ethnic construction students in the UK

“…Findings of skills gaps is recurring, and it is important to know the specific skills that are lacking to proffer specific solutions (Government Office for Science, 2016). For instance,Perera et al (2017) noted the unrealistic expectations of the industry of Quantity Surveying (QS) graduates, suggesting that they should have achieved high-level competency in mandatory, core and optional areas of the RICS competency requirements, which the students found dissatisfying and indicates a perception gap between academia and industry Zaheer et al (2021). second this perspective, unveiling the employers' view of the competencies of market-ready building surveying graduates, which does not match what the students currently possesses.…”

Coping with the Covid-19 pandemic: an exploration of the strategies adopted by construction firms

“…Online questionnaire administration was preferred and selected over other means such as face-to-face, by phone or in papers (Creswell, 2014) as it facilitates the research instrument to reach a wider audience within a short period. Google Form, the free to use Web portal that allows questionnaire links to be shared and the responses to be exported (Zaheer et al, 2020) was used as the platform for questionnaire administration.…”