Investigating the competency of property development graduates towards satisfying the requirements of the construction industry in South Africa: The case of the University of KwaZulu-Natal

Property Development graduates play a significant role in sustaining the economic growth of South Africa. Hence, they have to be adequately equipped with state-of-the-art knowledge and skills to satisfy the need of the South African construction industry. The unique structure of the construction industry coupled with the challenges of global competitiveness and changing regulatory requirements calls for highly educated and competent graduates. However, it seems that there is a lack of direction and leadership concerning Property Development education in South Africa. This view is supported by construction professionals who stated that Property Development graduates are not provided with the appropriate combination of hard and soft skills needed to deal with complex construction projects. Accordingly, this paper investigates the competency requirements of Property Development graduates, especially with a major in Construction Management, as an approach to satisfy the qualifications of the South African construction industry. The Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is examined after achieving the lowest rate in a survey conducted to study the appropriateness of built environment tertiary education in South Africa. To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of literature review and survey questionnaires, is designed to accomplish three objectives. Firstly, literature review is used to investigate the structure of the Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, National Qualifications Framework and Construction Management education. Secondly, survey questionnaires were used to investigate the relevancy of the Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal towards meeting the National Qualifications Framework unit standards and the South African construction industry requirements. Finally, this research summarises the conclusions and recommendations useful for improving Property Development and Construction Management education in South Africa. Although the research revealed that the Property Development Programme succeeded in graduating students who are adequately equipped to satisfy the expectations of the the South African construction industry, a number of key areas have been highlighted to enhance the Property Development and Construction Management education in South Africa generally and at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in particular.