Employability Forecast Among Construction Management from The Employer’s Perspective in Malaysia Construction Industry

Abstract

The tertiary education institutions in Malaysia are facing increasing demands from employers and stakeholders to ensure the graduates to be equipped with relevant skillset needed to secure a placement in the industry. The question arises, what are the skillsets required by employers contribute to the research gap which led to a comprehensive understanding on the expectation of employers towards the graduate’s employability. This study determined the employers' perspective skills by referring to five (5) field of employment consist of Developer, Contractor, Consultant, Supplier and Entrepreneur which consume of 57 (38%) respondents from 150 questionnaires distributed both on-site and on-line survey using random sampling technique. The content was referred on the program offered by Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using six (6) main categories of courses on hard skill to achieve the objective one and seven (7) soft skills to accomplish objective two. The finding indicates Project Management, Measurement and Estimating and Legal Study knowledge of hard skill critically required, whilst, interpersonal and communication soft skill is crucially needed. Those skills reveal as the fundamental knowledge in handling a construction works. In summary, this study able to facilitate the gap between graduates’ skills and employers’ expectation by providing a sufficient guidance platform referring to the respective field of employment as well as provides a significance implication to the educational institutions to align the program outcome toward the needs of the industry.Keywords: employability, forecast, graduates, employer

A conceptual construction management curriculum model grounded in scientometric analysis

“…Explanations for this puzzling lack of cohesive CMCD are in direct contrast to the relatively strong construction management (as well as general built environment) course enrolment trends (Higher Education Statics Agency, 2020) which suggest popularity of the course and relevance to industry. Furthermore, robust employability after graduation (Yussof et al. , 2021) and increasing entry-level position salaries for the construction industry (Gajjar et al.…”

“…Explanations for this puzzling lack of cohesive CMCD are in direct contrast to the relatively strong construction management (as well as general built environment) course enrolment trends (Higher Education Statics Agency, 2020) which suggest popularity of the course and relevance to industry. Furthermore, robust employability after graduation (Yussof et al, 2021) and increasing entry-level position salaries for the construction industry (Gajjar et al, 2019) have placed construction management in the limelight. With such attractive current course trends and a promising industry outlook (Office of National Statistics, 2021), it is curious that a passive, "happy-go-lucky" mind-set exists amidst the fragmented, insular landscape of CMCD.…”

Building technology training and student work readiness

“…Building Survey Husain et al (2020) Ability to identify, use and handle the latest surveying equipment/tools, Building construction and technology, communication skills, knowledge in building elements, facilities management, building defects, and building material, confidence level, language proficiency, Building pathology, working independently, Building inspection, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, digital construction, and systems. Construction management Yussof et al (2021) Hard skills include project management, construction economy, project evaluation and development, measurement and estimating, project planning, legal study, and building service. Soft skills include interpersonal, problem-solving, teamwork, communication skills, leadership, and critical thinking.…”

Employment and Professional Education Training System of College Graduates Based on the Law of Large Numbers

“…The elite education, which is often referred to as university education, has gradually become popular. As the employment situation becomes more and more severe, the employment situation of college students has become a criterion for judging the quality of a university's education [1]. Colleges and universities with higher employment rates have become everyone's first choice.…”

“…n represents the data sample size of its employed students 1. 2 { , , , } k C C C  represents the collection of data categories.…”