Oladimeji, O and Haddad, A N (2025) A systematic review of construction skills acquisition in higher education institutions. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 178(3), pp. 160-169. ISSN 17514304
Abstract
Higher education institutions (HEIs) construction students' skill acquisition is critical to addressing skill shortages in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry caused by issues such as an ageing workforce accompanied by rising retirement rates and the industry's difficulty in attracting and retaining fresh talents due to their negative perceptions of the industry. Hence, this paper conducts a systematic literature review on construction skills accessed and acquired through the HEIs, especially at the commencement of the fourth industrial revolution of 2014. Seven hundred and forty-eight articles were analysed, of which 46 were selected through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses protocols. Meanwhile, the research limitations can be attributed to using specific crucial keywords in viable but constrained databases. Results from the analysis demonstrated the authors' prominent use of mixed research methods. Findings and recommendations focused on construction students, graduates, HEIs, professionals, clients, and the digitisation of construction pedagogy. Significant findings and recommendations highlight the need to revise the construction curriculum and teaching methods, emphasising the importance of using digital tools and applications. A well-structured and implemented construction course curriculum tailored towards acquiring soft and hard construction skills will go a long way towards sustaining, improving, and increasing a viable construction workforce.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; construction programmes; construction skills; construction student; education and training; information technology; recruitment |
| Index terms: | higher education institution, acquisition, systematic literature review, construction industry, information technology, skill shortage, fourth industrial revolution, education and training, teaching method, programme, pedagogy, recruitment, database, meta-analysis |
| Subjects: | educational institutions, business, project controls, management, data management, professional education, technology adoption, computing systems, research evaluation and metrics, industry analysis, teaching methods |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Human Resources, Business Strategy, Time Control, Education, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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