Awe, E M; Stephenson, P and Griffith, A (2009) An assessment of education and training needs of skilled operatives within the Nigerian construction industry. In: Dainty, A R J (ed.) Proceedings of 25th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2009, Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
The challenge of skilled workforce shortage is one of the most critical threats to the economic health of many nations around the globe. Skilled labour shortage affects various aspects of construction projects and impact on time, cost and quality of work. Consequently, this may jeopardise the achievement of economic benefits for which such projects are conceived. Nigeria as a country undergoing economic reform needs a productive, competent, and flexible workforce to further her economic development. However, shortage of skilled workforce, not just in terms of quantity but also of quality is the most pressing issue in the nation's construction sector; and is already having serious implications for both businesses and the economy generally. This study aims at examining the problems confronting the vocational education and training of selected skill occupations with the view to determining possible solutions to the current problem. The selected trades for the study are limited to wet trades such as masonry and concrete work. The sample population includes Professional Builders, selected relevant practising skilled operatives, technical/vocational school trainers and trainees. The research methodological approach will embrace both quantitative and qualitative methods and data will be collected from selected states within Nigeria, and in the UK for the purpose of obtaining overview of how developed nations are coping with the same phenomenon and how the UK approaches could be applied to the Nigerian's situation. The findings will provide the tool for developing a workable 'best practice framework' for the vocational education and training of trade operatives working in the nation's construction industry. The research is part of an on-going PhD programme aimed at finding practical solutions to the construction industry's skill shortages in Nigerian; Africa's most populous nation. This paper is being presented at this stage of the research as a theoretical piece prior to data collection.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | labour shortage; skilled operatives; technical education; vocational training |
| Index terms: | vocational education and training, construction sector, construction industry, operative, education and training, construction project, population, coping, best practice, labour shortage, occupation, programme, Nigeria, qualitative method, economic development, skilled labour, skill shortage, vocational training, Africa, professional builder |
| Subjects: | business, research design and methodology, profession, practitioner, regions and continents, economics, management, economic development, professional development, production management, Geography, professional education, sociology, demography, project controls, student development, behavioral psychology, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Time Control, Education, Urban Studies, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here