1. The scope of construction professionals’ skills. Dr. Olatunji J. Oladiran 45th Builders’ Conference/AGM: Skills development and entrepreneurship in the construction industry, 3rd – 7th August 2015, University of Ibadan International Conference Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria. 1

2. 2 Skills are inbuilt abilities for tasks’ accomplishment. Determines professionals’ competencies Determines projects’ outcomes (Al Omani, 2008): well finished, poorly finished or not finished Determines organizational and professional builders’ effectiveness and efficiency (Juras, 2010) Linked with industries’ performance 1.0 BACKGROUND

3. 3 It boosts career and helps succeed professionally. Crucial for continuity and relevance of any profession (Dada and Jagboro, 2012). Thus, the objective of this study is to determine the scope of construction professionals’ skills.

4. 4 2.0. PREVIOUS STUDIES Need for skill improvement, such as web-based training (Park, Son & Kim, 2012); e-learning (Wall, Ahmed & Smit, 2006) Juras (2010): developing 18 skills by professionals, categorized into technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills. Al Omani (2008): communication, organization and planning, budgeting, conflict management, negotiation and influencing, leadership, team-building and motivating skills. Ogunsemi et. al. (2008): leadership, communication, negotiating, influencing, team building, problem solving and decisiveness skills.

5. 5 3.0. RESEARCH METHODS Cross-sectional survey design. Population: educators and industry practitioners in Lagos State. Questionnaire: 230 distributed, 65 used (28%) Technique: census and convenience Tools: Mode, mean, standard deviation and ANOVA

6. 6 4.0. FINDINGS Figure 1: Respondents’ Positions.

7. 7 SNSkillsEducatorsIndustry Practitioners NSTDModeMeanRNSTDModeMeanR VMVM 1Budgeting and Control1660.63254.5034210.70754.481 2 Understanding of construction industry requirements 2200.85854.4554300.75254.352 3 Organization and Planning 1660.50054.6314120.85054.323 4 Problem solving capability. 2200.91254.4554210.78054.314 5 Technical and professional expertise 2110.87354.4844300.79044.265 6Leadership capability.2200.71654.3294210.79844.265 7 Ability to present ideas and negotiate 2200.94554.3294300.83354.217 8 Efficacy in understanding and executing assigned tasks 2200.94144.14184300.73244.198 9People management2111.19554.14184300.78544.169 10Multidisciplinary team building and teamwork experience. 2200.88354.27114300.78544.169 Table 1: The scope of construction professionals’ skills

8. 8 Table 1 continued SNSkillsEducatorsIndustry Practitioners NSTDModeMeanRNSTDModeMeanR VMVM 11 Flexibility and understanding others 2200.90754.18164300.61544.169 12Communication2200.82754.27114210.88944.1212 13 Tendency to analyze complex organization problems 2200.97354.23154300.54444.1212 14 Financial and contractual management. 2200.79554.18164300.79944.0716 15 Understanding of construction procurement processes 2200.73954.5524300.92544.0517 16 Tendency to formulate growth strategies 2201.04654.05234300.61544.0517 Value Management experience 2200.84444.05234300.83144.0220 18Time management2200.84854.3674300.80144.0220 19Tending to details2200.89944.05234300.84544.0023 20 Ability to adhere to instructions 2110.91054.14184210.66344.0023 21Tendency to think about organizational values and business philosophy 2200.92644.00264210.62544.0023 There is no significance difference between the educators and industry practitioners on all the skills

9. 9 5.0. CONCLUSION There are 21 skills that form the scope for construction professionals. The implications of this on professional builders include: i. A paradigm shift from the old perception of what their skills entails to focusing on and acquiring all the identified skills with no exceptions. ii. Rigorous developmental efforts, such as seminars, trainings, courses, conferences and so on, organized by professional bodies, private and public organizations on these skills.

10. 10 6.0. RECOMMENDATIONS Construction professionals, especially professional builders should develop themselves on the 21 skills Employability and admission of professional builders should incorporate these skills. Building Students’ curriculum in higher institutions should be reviewed to accommodate teaching and training on these skills. Training on these skills should be made a key component of Builders’ Continuous Professional Development.