The built environment craftmanship in higher education institutions: issues and prospects from stakeholders' perception

Abstract

Purpose: Nigeria has one of the highest graduate unemployment rates in Africa, and there is no comprehensive policy framework to address it. Evidence shows that integrating craftsmanship into higher education academic programmes can enhance graduate employability. Therefore, there is a need to integrate it into the built environment programmes at institutions in Nigeria. The built environment craftmanship (BEC) in Nigeria's HEIs may have had some challenges, although studies about these challenges are scarce. In this regard, the study investigated BEC's perceived encumbrances and proffered measures to integrate craftsmanship skills in Nigerian HEIs built environment programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The research adopted a qualitative research design using a virtual interview approach to solicit data from 34 experts across Nigeria. An exploratory approach was used to engage selected HEIs in Nigeria and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the collected data, and saturation was achieved. Findings: The study findings indicate that integrating BEC in built environment programmes will enhance graduate employment. However, possible encumbrances like institutional frameworks, funding, infrastructural development and pedagogical and social-cultural issues were found to be affecting BEC's integration into built environment programmes at higher education in Nigeria. Research limitations/implications: Future studies should explore more detailed large-scale investigations about integrating craftsmanship into higher education institution (HEI) programmes. Originality/value: Given the dearth of pragmatic studies on the built environment graduates' unemployment in Nigeria, this research contributes to the academic community debates on reducing graduates' unemployment via BEC in HEIs. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Nigeria Training Needs Construction practitioners Craft experts Encumbrances

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Department of Quantity Surveying, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Bendel, Nigeria, Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia

Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Department of Civil Engineering, University of South Africa, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Funding & Acknowledgements

Grant: 05-35-061890

Funding text 1: Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.; Funding text 2: The authors specially thank the participants for providing scholarly contributions to enhance the findings of this paper. The authors appreciate the comments, suggestions and recommendations provided by the anonymous reviewers, which helped hone and strengthen the quality of this manuscript during the blind peer-review process. Also, the lead author thank the current Auchi Polytechnic Management for creating an enabling environment for quality research. Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

University of Johannesburg, UJ

Funding text 1: Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.; Funding text 2: The authors specially thank the participants for providing scholarly contributions to enhance the findings of this paper. The authors appreciate the comments, suggestions and recommendations provided by the anonymous reviewers, which helped hone and strengthen the quality of this manuscript during the blind peer-review process. Also, the lead author thank the current Auchi Polytechnic Management for creating an enabling environment for quality research. Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Fakultas Teknik Universitas Indonesia, FTUI

Funding text 1: Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.; Funding text 2: The authors specially thank the participants for providing scholarly contributions to enhance the findings of this paper. The authors appreciate the comments, suggestions and recommendations provided by the anonymous reviewers, which helped hone and strengthen the quality of this manuscript during the blind peer-review process. Also, the lead author thank the current Auchi Polytechnic Management for creating an enabling environment for quality research. Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and CIDB Centre of Excellence (05-35-061890), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

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The built environment craftmanship in higher education institutions: issues and prospects from stakeholders' perception

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