EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENT OF CONTRACTORS FOR MASS HOUSING CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA

EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENT OF CONTRACTORS FOR MASS HOUSING CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Housing is an important indicator of the physical, economic and social development of any nation. It is difficult to talk about the success of a nation, or a society within a nation without analyzing its housing situation. Housing is one of the best indicators of a person‘s standard of living and his or her place in the society (Nubi, 2000). Housing represents one of the most basic human needs.

As a unit of the environment, it has a profound influence on the health, efficiency, social behavior, satisfaction and general welfare of the community (Onibokun 1998). Housing provides a link between the physical development of a city, and its social and economic outcomes. The availability of decent housing for each family defines the level of development which the country has reached. This is because the social and economic wealth of the country can only co-exist with good housing (Alao, 2009).

In 2005 Nigeria housing deficit is estimated to be between 12million to 14 million (Adejumo, 2008 and Oluwaluyi, 2008). According to Babade (2007), to adequately house the urban population in Nigeria, a conservative figure of 409,227 housing units should have been constructed in 1990. Due to neglect, the figure rose to 783,042 units in 1995; 1,333,176 units in the year 2000; 1,543,318 units in 2003 and 2,171,603 units in 2010. This is serious, considering the great significance of the housing sector to the Countries economy. The estimated amount required to provide for the deficit housing units is estimated at US$150-200 billion. The United Nations estimates that Nigeria‘s population to be 141 million in 2005, and predicted that it would reach 289 million by 2050 (Encarta, 2007). This means the demand and supply will continue to widen if nothing is done immediately.

A focus on contractors‘ upskilling needs is therefore crucial especially in mass housing sector which constitute a major component of construction activities in Abuja. The acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills is crucial for contractors‘ performance (Egbu, 1999 & Mbachu, 2012). It is the responsibility of every nation to nurture, develop and equip her contractors with the available projects so as to have the required experience with which to execute all complexities of national construction challenges. The inability of Nigeria contractors to possess requisite knowledge and skills has led to outsourcing of foreign contractors.

Mbachu (2012) provides the basic knowledge and skills required for contractors to perform in construction projects. If the performance of contractors in mass housing constructions is to be relevant, then the underlying knowledge and skills need to be prioritized to reflect the required knowledge and skills of contractors to perform in mass housing construction projects. This will help contractors to reflect positively on the best practice to improve their performance in mass housing projects.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Nigerian construction industry is dominated by foreign companies in which most of the construction works are being undertaken by expatriates (Adams, 1997 and Odediran et al., 2012).This is due to the deficiencies and incapability of the indigenous firms in areas of financial effectiveness, innovations, dynamism among others (Olugboye, 1998), shortage of Contractors knowledge and skills to meet client demands (Mbachu, 2012).

This has resulted in an unwholesome dependence on foreign counterparts (Odediran et al., 2012). A large proportion of these major constructing firms in Nigeria are subsidiaries/affiliates of European, North American and Asian construction firms. The choice and preference for engaging foreign contractors as compared with other indigenous contractors is majorly on lack of technical competence (knowledge), deficiency in managerial skills and planning (Ogbebor, 2002; Chen et al., 2007; Ajayi & Ogunsanmi, 2010 and Odediran et al., 2012).

Based on the above, it is recommended that emphasis should be placed on developing training programmes and educating of local contractors to meet up with current and emergent technology and innovation (Adams, 1997; Tunji-Olayeni & Omuh, 2012; Odediran et al., 2012 and Mbachu, 2012). However, the Identification and prioritisation of these knowledge and skills along the lines of their relative levels of importance or impact on performance, the extent to which contractors possess these knowledge and skills and a clear understanding that will inform contractors’ training, education and competency areas in Nigeria is unclear.

1.3 JUSTIFICATION
The technologies, knowledge and skills with which routine jobs were executed in previous years are no longer adequate for the challenges and competitions in today‘s business landscape. Technical efficiencies are no longer enough; a broad range of knowledge and skills is now a must-have for survival, growth and sustenance of every business especially the construction sector. This is heightened by the increasing emphasis on the knowledge economy (Mbachu, 2012).

Nigerian contractors are faced with the problems of lack of technical education, managerial skill and finance when compared with their counterparts in developed countries. If the contractor is equipped with the cutting edge knowledge and skills it will enhance productivity and performance (Cabinet Office, 2011 and Autodesk, 2012).
It is the responsibility of every nation to nurture, develop and equip her contractors with the available projects so as to have the required experience with which to execute all complexities of national construction challenges. But instead of this, government has developed foreign companies neglecting their own contractors starved of work. This has made foreign contractors to gain better expertise while the Nigerian contractors remain inexperienced and therefore unable to compete with their foreign counterparts. The prefer patronage of foreign contractors has been attributed to lack of capacity by indigenous contractor (Magesa, 2006; Kibodya, 2008; Urassa, 2008; Mbachu, 2012 and Odediran et al., 2012).

In Abuja mass housing is most predominant construction activity which is bedeviled with quacks and building collapse is eminent. Housing is a basic requirement of any society, this has become imperative to undertake this study which will guide the selection criteria for contractors and informed contractors’ training and education (Mbachu, 2012). This study will assist clients in the selection of contractors and evaluation of contractors to be engaged in mass housing projects. It will also form bases for contractors training and education.

1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
This research aims at evaluate the of knowledge and skills requirement of contractors in delivery of mass housing construction projects. To achieve this aim, the followings are the specific objectives:

1.     To identify suitable knowledge and skills required for contractors‘ performance in mass housing construction projects;

2.     To examine the level of importance of the identified knowledge and skills;

3.     To assess the extent to which the Nigeria contractors possess the identified key skills and knowledge in mass housing projects; and

4.     To determine critical knowledge and skills that should inform contractor education and training for improved performance in mass housing project delivery.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What knowledge and skills are most required for contractors to perform in the delivery of mass housing projects? Does Abuja mass housing Contractors possessed the requisite knowledge and skills to perform in Abuja mass housing projects?

1.6 HYPOTHESES
H1: There is NO significant difference between the perspectives of Consultants and Clients’ professionals on level of importance of the identified knowledge and skills requirement of contractors in mass housing construction.
H2: There is NO significant difference between the perspectives of Consultants and Clients’ professionals on the current level of proficiency of the identified knowledge and skills requirement of contractors in mass housing construction.

1.7 SCOPE
The study covers the perceptions of construction professionals (Architects, Builders, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers). The study focuses on the construction professional’s perception of level of importance of knowledge and skills required for contractor performance and contractor current level of proficiency. This study excludes the perception of contractors from the study in order to avoid biased judgement (self assessment). The study area covers mass housing projects being undertaken at the Federal Capital Territory.

1.8 LIMITATIONS
The use of qualitative approach is found to be most suitable for this study. The task of the qualitative methodologist is to capture what people say and do as a product of how they interpret the complexity of their world, to understand events from the viewpoints of the participants. It has her shortcomings, people understand issues differently. To avoid misinterpretation of the required knowledge and skills for contractors‘ performance in this research context, definitions were attached to the questionnaires for clear understanding of the research context. Therefore, the accuracy of this research is limited to the accuracy of the information supplied by respondents.

The study is limited to the knowledge and skills requirement of contractors in mass housing construction. It therefore does not consider the knowledge and skills requirement of contractors for other forms of construction such as industrial, education, civil works, etc. The sample size could reduce the generation of the research results and also limits it confidence. To mitigate all these effects, the sample size was carefully calculated to ensure the right sample size was used that will make the results reliable. This also reduces the subjectivity of data collection and analysis of the research. Furthermore, the study assumed that all the mass housing projects have similar characteristics.