Construction Craftsmen’s Availability And Project Performance In Selected Southwestern States, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Construction activity plays a vital role economic growth and development of any nation by creating employment opportunities as well as housing for habitation or for conducting other business activities. The construction industry is labour intensive and the efforts of its craftsmen towards an efficient performance cannot be overemphasized. Studies in the past have established the shortage of craftsmen in the industry and lack of adequate resources is said to have compounded performance problem in the Nigerian construction industry. This study therefore investigates the availability of construction craftsmen with a view to examining its effects on construction project performance in the Nigerian construction industry by identifying the construction crafts skill categories common to the Nigerian building industry, examining the patterns of demand for building construction craftsmen, investigating the existence of shortage of skilled construction craftsmen and examining the possible effects of construction craftsmen’s availability on construction project performance. The survey study utilized both secondary data from past works and primary data sourced by administering a structured questionnaire to construction professionals of indigenous construction firms located across Oyo, Ogun and Lagos state. A total of 278 questionnaires were distributed in strata and (211) copies of questionnaires in total were filled and returned representing a 75.9% return rate across the three (3) states. The breakdown across the three states showing the numbers of questionnaire distributed and (the quantity filled out) presents; 137(88), 73(65), 68(58) in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun state respectively. A five point likert scale was used to rank factors and collected data were analyzed using Relative Importance Index (RII). The results showed that Plastering/Rendering, masonry, painting, and welding/Iron bending, are the common crafts trade in the Nigerian building construction industry. Results also established series of demand pattern for building craftsmen. In corroboration to previous studies, this study confirmed that shortage of building construction craftsmen still exists, but on a contrary to previous studies about its severity, the shortage is presented to be less severe. The study also established a directly proportional relationship between the availability of building construction craftsmen and building construction project performance indicators of time, cost, quality and productivity.