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This research attempts to determine the extent of agreement between industry and academia as to the required key skills from graduating construction management students, both undergraduate and graduate level, in order to identify any differences in perspectives. This is indeed important in order to develop a strategic plan for construction management educators with specific curriculum improvements so as to prepare construction management students for the contemporary construction industry. As such, the study endeavors to provide insights into possible future directions undergraduate and graduate construction management education might be heading for and highlights some of the priorities that should be part of the movement. An important conclusion from the study is that skills ranked high by the industry, including interpreting contract documents (for both undergraduates and graduates), listening ability/ giving attention to details (for undergraduates), time management (for undergraduates), construction accounting (for graduates), value engineering/ constructability analysis/ design review (for graduates) and contract negotiations/ conflict resolution (for graduates) are given lesser significance by the educators. Hence, these skills signify areas that may require strategic curriculum improvement. Consequently, a collaborative effort to strategically assess and improve construction management curriculums is highly recommended.
Farooqui et al. (Wed,) studied this question.