Abstract
Abstract Skilled labour shortage is the shortfall of workforce in specific trades or shortage of workforce with requisite skills. The paper seeks to identify areas where there are skilled labour shortages in the building construction industry within the Central Region. A survey research approach was employed to get the study population that consisted of project managers, site engineers, site foremen and engineers working with contactors. Questionnaires were designed based on the research specific objectives and used as the main instrument for data collection. Findings from the study revealed that the shortage of skilled manpower was from painters and decorators, electricians and tile workers. Further findings showed that skilled labour shortage was caused by socio–economic conditions, external forces, job attractiveness, job characteristics, job satisfaction, industry limitations and personal factors. Employees should be encouraged to develop their trade competences and change their attitude to work, while employers should build their manpower base through training.
Highlights
Skilled labour plays a very important role in the success of every construction project and stands tall in the advent of sophistication and technology in building construction project delivery
The skilled labour shortage in the building construction industry within the Central Region was due to painters and decorators, electricians and tile workers
This shortage was attributed to socio−economic conditions, external forces, job attractiveness, job characteristics, job satisfaction, industry limitations and personal factors
Summary
Skilled labour plays a very important role in the success of every construction project and stands tall in the advent of sophistication and technology in building construction project delivery. As activities on site are largely reliant on skilled workforce (Mackenzie, Kilpatrick, & Akintoye, 2000), any shortage has a negative implication for the construction industry. The problem is even compounded because many of the available skilled workforce have a low level of skills in their respective trade areas. The study seeks to identify the trade areas with shortage of manpower and come out with some needed characteristics that should be possessed by skilled employees in the region
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