Key Factors Employers Look for In Hiring Construction Managers for Public and Private Construction Projects
Authors: Anthony Obododike Ekwuno  
Published: November 2022

The construction industry is one of the world's most important economic activities, and research in this area has found a positive correlation between project management skills and construction project success. However, it is becoming more evident that success in the role of a construction manager cannot be attained with a technical skill set alone. Excellent soft skills are also necessary requisites for success. The aim of the paper is to discuss the benefits of project management skills and what skills employers of labour expected when hiring construction managers in the construction industries. In recent years, several construction projects have steadily failed due to engaging incompetent construction managers with no technical and soft skills. This failure has affected the rate of productivity in the construction industry. Several companies have closed due to the poor performance of their construction managers. Despite the construction industry's significant contribution to economic growth in developed and developing countries, there are still great hindrances in construction project productivity due to the poor performance of construction managers. However, this gap significantly delays much-needed productivity gains, as it is difficult to fully overcome the associated disruptions and choose the best remedy to minimize their impacts on every Nation's Economic Development. Therefore, this investigation is required to close these gaps. This study employed a qualitative research methodology. A combination of primary and secondary sources was used to achieve the main research objectives. Interviews were conducted with 8 vibrant employers in the construction industry. The interview question was made open to enable the employers to air their views on the skills they expected construction managers to possess before engaging them to manage a construction business. The interviews were done face-to-face. Each employer was interviewed separately to avoid copied responses. The outcomes of the interview were noted and listed. However, the benefits of possessing those skills demanded by employers were explained. These benefits were discovered through a systematic literature review. The findings from this study will not only benefit all employers of construction managers in the construction industry but will also be beneficial to all other employees in a company who seek career growth and better job opportunities in the future. It will help eliminate the issue of unnecessary company closure and disputes among the project team due to project failure. Both professionals and future college and university graduates, whose intentions are to proceed to the working field after graduation, will also benefit from the findings. The construction industry is still doomed unless it addresses the issues of construction managers’ attributes. The value of teamwork in the workplace is obvious, and it is frequently directly influenced by effective construction managers’ attributes. Effective construction managers help to save money and boost their company’s reputation. Using a technology-knowledgeable construction manager can greatly help improve the project delivery and a good team working environment saves money and time on projects.