Haigh, R. (2026) Repositioning construction management education for Construction 5.0: An accreditation-aligned competency framework and review. Construction Management and Economics, 44(9), pp. 674-702. ISSN 0144-6193
Abstract
The construction sector is transitioning from Construction 4.0 towards Construction 5.0, characterised by the convergence of digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and human-centred professional practice. While industry transformation is accelerating, construction management education (CME) must realign with emerging digital and socio-technical competencies, remaining consistent with accreditation requirements. This study examines how CME has evolved in response to Construction 4.0 and explores how tertiary education can be repositioned to support Construction 5.0 readiness within an Australian context. A bibliometric analysis of CME literature was undertaken using the Web of Science database and Bibliometrix to identify research trends, thematic shifts, and gaps. A Construction Management Education 5.0 (CME-5.0) competency framework was developed through the synthesis of CME, Construction 4.0 literature and accreditation requirements from the Australian Institute of Building and the Chartered Institute of Building. The framework defines six integrated competency domains spanning digital and cyber-physical systems, data and AI-assisted decision-making, systems integration, sustainability and circular intelligence, digital governance and ethics, and adaptive leadership. Results indicate that while existing accreditation frameworks implicitly address many Construction 5.0 capabilities, they remain fragmented across traditional curricular silos. The CME-5.0 framework proposes an accreditation-aligned model that can inform curriculum renewal to support digitally enabled, sustainable, and human-centred construction practice.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | built environment education; Construction 4.0; Construction 5.0; digital competency |
| Index terms: | ethics, bibliometric analysis, construction sector, artificial intelligence, database, decision-making, digitalization, built environment education, construction management education, industry transformation, socio-technical, tertiary, construction 4.0, governance, integration, professional practice, renewal, science |
| Subjects: | digital engineering, curriculum development, organizational analysis, business, industry analysis, research methods, organization, professional education, decision analysis, renovation and retrofit, data management, professional development, artificial intelligence, digital technology, ethical practice, specialized education, research evaluation and metrics |
| Topics: | Governance, Education, Business Strategy, Digital Applications, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Risk Management, Organizational Design, Research Practice |
| 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