CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES AND SKILLS GAP IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY by

1. CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES AND SKILLS GAP IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRYby Bldr. Dr. Peter Kuroshi Registrar, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) 2nd Floor Kays Plaza, Obafemi Awolowo way, Jabi - Abuja Delivered at the 45th Builders’ Conference/Annual General Meeting Oluyole 2015

2. Introduction • Construction practices • Responsibilities and interaction among the building sector professionals • Builder’s professional practiceand his/her statutory relationship with Artisans and craftsmen. • Required skills in the building sector. • Nature of Skills-Gap in the building sector of the construction industry. • Suggested measures for bridging.

3. Construction Practice Construction practice is hereby defined as the performance of the entire system of procedure and standards in executing all phases of a project (assembly of built spaces); through the synergic responsibilities and interaction among the building industry professionals: • Town Planners, • Architects, • Builders, • Engineers, • Quantity Surveyors And • Estate Managers. Note, emphasis is on Builders’ Professional practice and aspects that impacts on the quality of their regulatory supervision of Artisans and Craftsmen.

4. Responsibilities of Building Sector Professionals • Architect - for Architectural conformance. • Structural Engineer - structural components of the building. • Services Engineers - service engineering requirements for the building. • Quantity Surveyor - Cost Plans, Bills of Quantities, the interim valuation for progress certification and final certification at the completion of the building project. • Town Planner - layout of buildings to be erected indicating roads, etc. • Land Surveyor - Surveys the land on which buildings are erected. • Estate Surveyors & Valuers- determines the value of a building for eventual sale to interested party or to stand as collateral.

5. The Consultant Builder • Buildability and Maintainability Reports of the design, • Construction Methodology, • Construction Health and safety Plan, • Quality Management Plan and where required by the Client, • Construction Programme. The Regular Builder • Coordinates activities that facilitates the incorporation of inputs of other professionals • Engages in physical construction through effective management of the production processes on site by • Implementing the provisions of production information i.e. drawings, specifications, BOQs, survey report, site analysis report etc. through the efforts of Artisans and Craftsmen.

6. The Builder and Trade Skills for Building Works • ‘’the management of the execution of the building works including the supervision of artisans and tradesmen shall be carried out by a Registered Builder.” (NBC, Sect.13.12.4) • The basic crafts available and often deployed in the building process are: Carpenters/Joiners, Glaziers, Roofers, Tilers, Floorers, Steel benders & fixers, Scaffolders, Electricians, Plumbers, Masons and plasterers of walls, etc Assumed Skills Scenarios in the Building Sector • Few Craftsmen possess the right skills, the experience, and qualifications that the sector deserves. • Nigerian Artisans and Craftsmen lack the necessary knowledge, skills and experience required to undertake their duties competently

7. Skills Gap • Simply skills are what an individual possesses which may be learnt informally and/or on-the-job • Skill Gap is the difference in the skills required on the job and the actual skills possessed by the employees. • A Skills Gap arises when a worker does not have all the skills necessary to do the job effectively. • Therefore, skills gaps refer to the situation where a firm has employees but they are not skilled enough to meet the organisations’ objectives.

8. Skills Issues in the Building Sector • Common indicators of Skills issues -Poor workmanship and Building Failure • ’Nigerian cities with the exception of the enclave of the rich and powerful are characterised by poor quality structures, poor layout and streets access, lack of essential utility services, inadequate security, and social services’’ (Alemika, 2010). • Apparently, deficiencies exist between the skills of vocational workers and those required to meet the needs and expectations of employers in the Building sector. • This can be attributed to the dwindling stock of competent skilled construction workers and the influx of unskilled, inefficient and dissatisfied workers who see the sector as a last resort (ITF, 2014) • The construction industry (Building sector) is growing but it seems the stock of competent skilled construction workers has dwindled (Odusami & Ene, 2011).

9. Skills Needs in Building Sector Technical Skills Advanced Skills Requirements • Building drawing skills • Surveying, landscaping and site preparation skills • Foundation skills • Ability to use machines for construction • Ability to use hand tools for practical work • Brick and block Laying skills • Roofing skills • Masonry skills in building • Concreting and reinforcement skills • Carpentry and Joinery skills • Final Finishes skills • Plumbing skills • Technical skills • Supervisory skills • Multi-skilling • Team-working skills • Customer skills • Health and safety • Regulation compliance • Customer relations

10. Suggested Strategies for Addressing Skills Gap • Research: need for an extensive research to obtain data on the actual supply of skills and the demand for skills • Training: need for an appropriate framework for setting up building trade schools/centres devoted to skill training development to guarantee workforce development. • Performance enhancement: employers ought to develop standards for improving productivity of workforce, and need to have in place clear and definite strategies, goals and performance metrics. • Guidance and Counselling: reaching out to secondary school leavers to consider Technical Vocation is a strategy worth considering • Policy on Workforce development: CORBON has the statutory responsibility of identifying the skills and competencies needs and to align their development to key drivers for the construction industry.

11. Conclusions • The challenge of skills gap in the construction industry is not peculiar to Nigeria. But the absence of reliable data on the supply and demand for skills is evident hence the need for skills gap analysis is a remedy worth considering. • Skills Gaps and Shortages can be reduced by developing skills that promote managerial, scientific and technical abilities of Artisans • Developing Skill Competency Standards, Qualifications, Sector Skill Development Plan and maintenance of Skill Inventory are worthwhile strategies for addressing skills gap in the Building sector.

12. Thank You