The dynamism and unpredictability of the construction industry have continued to underline the need for adequately skilled graduates to handle key positions after graduation. Apart from good academic degrees and theoretical knowledge, industry employers are constantly seeking graduates who also possess an array of generic skills (GS) or non-academic skills. This study aims to evaluate the GS that built-environment graduates need to possess to thrive in the labour market after graduation. A quantitative research approach was adopted to achieve this study’s objective with close-ended questionnaires developed and administered to built environment professionals based in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Retrieved data were analyzed using several statistical tools such as descriptive statistics (DS), Mean Item Score (MIS), One-Sample T-test (OST), and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Findings revealed four clusters highlighting the key GS that built environment graduates require to thrive in the construction industry after graduation. These include leadership skills, critical thinking and analytical skills, problem-solving skills and entrepreneurship skills. A key implication of these findings makes a case for universities to constantly adopt several pedagogical approaches to develop these GS and other related competencies to ensure industry readiness for graduates. This study contributes to the body of scholarly knowledge as it reveals the various clusters of GS skills which employers constantly seek from built environment graduates in South Africa and beyond. The outcomes of this study will be beneficial to university educators, higher education officials, policymakers and even students.

Purpose: This study presents the results of an assessment of the barriers that can hinder the deployment of robotics and automation systems in developing countries through the lens of the Nigerian construction industry.Design/methodology/approach: A scoping literature review was conducted through which barriers to the adoption of robotics and automation systems were identified, which helped in the formulation of a questionnaire survey. Data were obtained from construction professionals including architects, builders, engineers and quantity surveyors. Retrieved data were analyzed using percentages, frequencies, mean item scores and exploratory factor analysis.Findings: Based on the mean scores, the top five barriers were the fragmented nature of the construction process, resistance by workers and unions, hesitation to adopt innovation, lack of capacity and expertise and lack of support from top-level managers. Through factor analysis, the barriers identified were categorized into four principal clusters namely, industry, human, economic and technical-related barriers.Practical implications: This study provided a good theoretical and empirical foundation that can be useful to construction industry stakeholders, decision-makers, policymakers and the government in mapping out strategies to promote the incorporation and deployment of automation and robotics into the construction industry to attain the safety benefits they offer.Originality/value: By identifying and evaluating the challenges that hinder the implementation of robotics and automation systems in the Nigerian construction industry, this study makes a significant contribution to knowledge in an area where limited studies exist.

Existing studies have described the construction sectors in developing countries as lagging in the implementation of digital technologies (DTs) and still have some way to go to achieve digital transformation. The study was therefore construed to explore the barriers affecting the adoption of DTs for construction sustainability in Nigeria. A scoping literature review was conducted through which 23 barriers to the adoption of DTs were identified, which helped in the formulation of a questionnaire survey. Data was obtained from construction professionals including architects, builders, engineers, and quantity surveyors. Retrieved data were analyzed using several statistical tools such as percentages, frequencies, mean item scores, and exploratory factor analyses. Factor analysis revealed five clusters that are categorized as organizational, management, technical, regulatory, and economic. This study has the potential to guide researchers and industry practitioners on the need to develop an awareness of the need for innovation to foster the efficiency and productivity of construction projects. The evaluation of the key barriers facing the adoption of DTs would be beneficial to construction organizations, professional bodies, and the government with the view of achieving digital transformation of the sector. A major contribution of this study to the body of knowledge is that it describes how developing economies such as Nigeria where the adoption of DTs is slow can mitigate the identified barriers to achieving digital transformation. Thus, the findings of this study can serve as a basis for construction organizations in Nigeria and similar countries seeking the digital transformation of their activities.

The process of employability skills improvement is reflected in the pedagogical approaches employed by institutions of higher learning (HEIs). While several studies have discussed these approaches, very few have microscoped them and examined their learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review the concept of extracurricular activities (ECA) research published on the Elsevier Scopus database from 1990 to 2020 using a sequence of bibliometric analysis to identify the status, research trends and focus areas in recent ECA studies within the built environment context. Keywords such as ‘extracurricular activity’ OR ‘extracurricular activities’ OR ‘co-curricular activity’ OR ‘co-curricular activities’ OR ‘out of school activity’ OR ‘out of school activities’ AND ‘employability’ AND ‘built environment’ were used to extract papers from the database. Through the sequencing of cluster analysis, the results of this study revealed that the focus on ECA studies is placed on employability skills, academic performance, overall human development, parental involvement and improving cultural diversity. More so, the current research focus is tending towards the knowledge and adoption of problem-based learning (PBL) which is a key component of built environment education. This study provides a basis for encouraging ECA as a key pedagogical approach in developing the future workforce of the construction industry. Despite the novelty of this article, generalizations of the results must be done cautiously due to the use of a single database, which in this case is Elsevier’s Scopus.

The concepts of sustainability should be incorporated at every level of the decision-making process during the construction of residential building projects. It will ensure maximum cost savings without compromising the residential buildings’ services. To understand these sustainability principles, this study was conducted to identify and investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) required for implementing cyber technology in residential building projects. These CSFs were obtained from existing studies that were contextually explored via a questionnaire survey involving construction experts in the Nigerian building industry. Based on the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results, cyber technology CSFs were grouped into five distinct constructs: Governmental, Customer satisfaction, Time, Social safety, and Marketability of the construction product. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to develop the model for the CSFs. The study showed that the Governmental component possessed the highest effect on the model, further underlining this construct as a crucial CSF in implementing cyber/digital technology. The findings from this study will facilitate cyber/digital technology introduction in the Nigerian construction industry. It will aid decision-makers and construction professionals in seeking viable ways of reducing costs and improving sustainability. Thus, this study has developed a CSF model to showcase the adoption of cyber/digital technology, with other implications for facilitating the goal of achieving sustainable residential building projects.

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has triggered a digital transformation across several industries, including the project management (PM) profession. To achieve competitive advantages, construction industry employers must now utilise technology and data for strategy development, project execution, and delivery. This study reviews the concept of PM through research published on the Elsevier Scopus database from 2010 to date using a sequence of bibliometric analyses. Keywords such as “project management” AND “project management tools” AND “project management techniques” AND “construction industry” AND “built environment” were used for article extraction. VOSviewer, a text-mining tool, was used to analyse the bibliometric connection in PM research within the built environment discipline. Through the sequencing of cluster analysis, the findings revealed that research focus is placed on sustainable development (SD), construction safety (CS), engineering education (EE), project management stakeholders (PMS), risk management (RM), and building information modelling (BIM). More so, the current research focus in PM studies is tending towards knowledge management (KM) and construction innovation (CI). Based on a critical review of extant literature, very few studies have bibliometrically analysed and visualised PM studies. This study sets out to fill this gap by examining the key areas of concentration in published works on the PM concept from 2010 to date. Despite the valuable contribution of this study to the PM body of knowledge, generalisations of the results must be made cautiously due to the use of a single database, which in this case is Elsevier Scopus.