ERES 2011 The value of practical work place experience in the property industry for the real estate student and graduate in South Africa Graeme Jay University of the Witwatersrand 1

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH PROBLEM 2

University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) School of Construction Economics and Management (CEM) is housed within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. CEM offers 3 degrees: –Quantity Surveying Studies –Construction Management Studies –Property Studies Property Studies is a new degree having been only introduced in The first group of graduates graduated in It has been noted that property studies as field of study is new in South Africa and has only been offered as a path of study in the last few years (Cloete, 2002). 3

Property Studies degree The number of students who have completed the property studies degree at WITS is as follows: –2005 – 10 students –2006 – 10 students –2007 – 15 students –2008 – 20 students –2009 – 18 students –2010 – 18 students There are 36 students registered in 2011 for the final year of study. Specialised degrees with small student numbers often face the challenge of justifying their existence to the university’s hierarchy (Baxter, 2007; Hefferan and Ross, 2010). 4

Recent challenges within CEM Degrees within CEM have been 4 year Honours degrees Degrees now need to be offered as a 3 +1 degree (Bachelors plus Honours) How does this affect accreditations? The need to re-curriculate? Some degrees with the Faculty (BArch) have already included a practical component as a requirement to be registered as a professional architect. 5

Research problem One of the major roles of a university is to educate, as opposed to train, the student. Application of theoretical concepts is important for the student as well (Kickul, Griffiths and Bacq, 2010; Callanan and McCarthy, 2003). It has been noted by Kickul, et al (2010), that the advantages of work place experience is that students are able to achieve certain goals if given sufficient time to do so and that there is a realization of the resource constraints which organisations work with. Studies have shown that even community based work and outreach programmes provide students with valuable skills (Hollander, 2011; Millican and Bourner, 2011). Should the curriculum of the Property Studies degree at WITS be amended to include a practical work skills course or a formal internship? 6

Methodology Two sample groups were identified: –Current 4 th year Property Studies students (2011) –Students who completed their studies in 2010 A questionnaire was developed for each group. The questionnaire for the student group was administered in class and 35 out 36 responses were received. The questionnaire for the graduate group was ed to the group and 13 out 17 responses were received. One graduate could not be located. Questionnaires were analysed and responses from each sample group compared. 7

% of respondents 8

9

10

% of students 11

% of students 12

% of students 13

% of students 14

% of students 15

% of students 16

Advantages and disadvantages of a formal internship for the intern (student perspective) Advantages of a formal internship Disadvantages of a formal internship  Practical experience (26)  Exposure to property industry (20)  Helps one to decide which field to enter into (7)  Job opportunities and networking(6)  Student may not complete their degree (13)  Time consuming (5)  Difficult to find an internship (4)  Low pay (3) 17

Advantages and disadvantages of a formal internship for the employer (student perspective) Advantages of a formal internship for employer Disadvantages of a formal internship for employer  Be able to employ graduates with some experience (13)  Interns could become assets to the organisation (7)  Fresh ideas from interns (7)  Cheap labour (6)  Interns are inexperienced (8)  Costly to train interns (8)  Lazy students (2) 18

% of students 19

Advantages and disadvantages of a formal internship for the intern (graduate perspective) Advantages of a formal internship Disadvantages of a formal internship  Work experience, more valuable than book learning (8)  Assists with direction of career (7)  Can show worked as a team and managed a project (7)  May be difficult to get internship (7)  Extending the course by an extra year may discourage students from taking the course, or to not go back to finish after internship (7)  Risky to give intern responsibilities when under little supervision (6)  May wish to change course after internship (6) 20

Advantages and disadvantages of a formal internship for the employer (graduate perspective) Advantages of a formal internship for employer Disadvantages of a formal internship for employer  Cheap labour (8)  Young motivated and enthusiastic employees (7)  Staff recruitment  Employers can meet and assess future graduates, without having to commit to permanent work (7)  Corporate social responsibility (6)  Resources, time and money spent (6)  Chaos if programme not run correctly (6)  Existing employees would have to sacrifice time and productivity to train interns (5)  Student can leave after internship, employer has then trained student for another company (5) 21

% of students 22

% of students 23

% of students 24

Importance of working whilst studying Two dominant themes, regardless whether the work was property related or not: –People’s skills –Appreciation for the value of money 25

Where to from here? This study suggests that both current students and recent graduates are in favour of both a practical work skills component be included in the curriculum as well as a formal internship. A practical work skills component may be more suitable and easier to manage. Comparative study with other universities to determine what other models are being used. Students who graduated between 2005 and 2009 to be surveyed to increase the sample size. Employers to be surveyed and their commitment needs to be obtained. 26

Thank You Questions? Comments? Suggestions? To contact Graeme Jay 27