Privatisation and manpower capability development: Cases from the Libyan house building sector

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the current status of manpower capability, and to identify the key factors that influenced the development of manpower capability within private house building companies in Libya. Design/methodology/approach - The aim and the proposition of the research are set out after a literature review and synthesis. Then a multiple case study approach is adopted to conduct exploratory case studies into joint venture housing projects. Findings - The findings of the study confirm that there should be an interlinked tripartite strategy between the Government, foreign investors and local private house building firms to improve manpower capability so that the Government's housing targets are achieved and sustained. The proposed integrated framework offers a targeted approach to achieve a stepped change in achieving both a quantitative and qualitative growth in housing. Originality/value - The paper makes an original contribution to the knowledge on joint venture house building in developing countries. The research identifies the current strengths and weaknesses of manpower in professing a stepped change in the area to meet the needs of the Government's housing target, and while the majority of the changes are applicable within the Libyan case study context, opportunities exist to generalise towards other developing countries thereby to gain further value out of this research.