Employers’ Demand for Built Environment Professionals’ Employability Skills in Nigeria: Content Analysis of Job Advertisements

Authors

  • John Oko Ameh Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria
  • Camilus Ebuka Chukwujekwu Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria

Keywords:

Built environment profession, employers’ demand, employability skills, job advertisement, Nigeria

Abstract

The proportion of unemployed professionals in the built environment in Nigeria is alarming; yet there is an acute shortfall in skilled manpower in the construction industry, as employers continue to face recruitment dilemma due to paucity of applicants with the requisite employability-characteristics. This study, therefore, examines the job and person specifications required in job advertisements for professionals in the built environment. Conceptual content analysis was used to extract data from 500 job advertisements using quota sampling technique from a heterogeneous population, following which descriptive statistical methods were adopted for analysis. The study reveals the following in the built environment in Nigeria: Architects, Estate Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors are dominant job titles in advertisement for professionals; Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja are the major hubs for employment; job related employability characteristics include possession of B.Sc. degree/HND, with 3-5 years post qualification work experience, but without reference made to classification of degree or diploma; and dominant personal attributes required of applicants by employers are reliability, confidence and good attitude; Estate Management profession is highly sought after by employers. Therefore, to enhance graduates’ employability, the study recommends mandatory one-year on-the-job industry experience as part of hard skill requirements; a balance in hard and soft skills, and increased budgetary allocation for education and further training of graduates in the discipline in high demand by employers.

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Published

2020-06-02

How to Cite

Ameh, J. O., & Chukwujekwu, C. E. (2020). Employers’ Demand for Built Environment Professionals’ Employability Skills in Nigeria: Content Analysis of Job Advertisements. International Journal of Real Estate Studies, 14(1), 28–37. Retrieved from https://intrest.utm.my/index.php/intrest/article/view/133

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Articles