CRITICAL COMPETENCY-BASED SKILLS REQUIREMENTS FOR TVET IN GHANAIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVES FROM CRAFTSMEN/ARTISANS

摘要

Artisans were asked to rank trade related skills that craftsmen require in the Ghanaian construction industry for Competency Based Training (CBT). The data was elicited using questionnaire survey from site based craftsmen and those in education for CBT programme at a Technical University. Relative Importance Index (RII)/mean rankings and Factor Analysis were used as the statistical analytical tools. The RII revealed that, competencies related to; materials and waste management, choosing the right tool for the job, materials handling, and adequate knowledge of the properties of materials are amongst the top four skills artisans deem important in their training regime. Health and safety standards, ability to read and comprehend blueprints, quality control and communications skills followed in that order with all achieving a mean value above 4, on a scale of 1 to 5. The highly ranked skills places emphasis on the growing demand in the construction industry for adherence to lean construction practices, environmental protection /safety standards and increasing customer taste for satisfaction and quality. Factor analysis revealed the following underlying constructs: construction standards and physical resource management skills; emotional intelligence and quality assurance skills; construction communication and craftsmen management skills. These constructs reflect the expectation of global best practises, demanding that artisans upscale their skills for productive and harmonious working relationships towards effective execution of tasks. The findings should be helpful to policy makers in designing and developing appropriate study curriculum and assessment instruments, towards better coordination of TVET in the GCI and potentially developing economies.