Expected Acievement Levels and the Current Effectiveness of CE&M Graduates: A Case of Pakistan Construction Industry

Abstract

The construction industry is a vital asset for a country’s success in a globally competitive market that also deals with problems and challenges. Construction industry performance is backed by the capability and skills imparted by CE&M programs in the graduates. However, the skillset of CE&M graduates is not effective in countering the dynamic and ever-changing demands of the construction industry. Motivated to contribute in this direction, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of CE&M graduates against the demands of the construction industry. In this study, the key CE&M knowledge areas and their constituting learning outcomes were identified from top-ranked universities offering CE&M programs globally. Based on the identified learning outcomes, a questionnaire was developed and used to measure the graduates' effectiveness against the industry’s demands. The questionnaire was used to obtain the response of the graduates and the industry using the relative importance index (RII) at two-time intervals i.e. at master’s degree completion and after 5 years of graduates’ industry experience. The results showed that the graduates’ effectiveness is not sufficient enough to meet the prevailing demands of the construction industry neither at degree completion nor after the industrial exposure. This highlighted a need for a detailed revisit of the existing CE&M modules through industry-academia synchronization. This study contributes to both the industry and academia by providing a clear picture of the existing industry-academia gap and the overall preparedness of the CE&M graduates practicing in the industry.