Capstone courses as the vehicle to employability improvement of construction graduates

Abstract

Although Bachelor of Technology (BTech) graduates in South Africa are employed in the construction and allied sectors many employers have expressed dissatisfaction with the abilities of these students to perform effectively in the construction sector. Given the current SA construction boom, and the severe skills shortage in both construction management and site skills almost all construction graduates from Universities of Technology are able to find employment despite their skills being inadequate. Traditional universities that offer a Bachelor of Science Honours (BSc. Hons.) degrees in construction studies, namely construction management and quantity surveying are perceived to produce a better graduate despite the BTech co-operative education and training being the preferred method of training for construction graduates. The offering of a capstone course may be seen as an avenue to achieve a better quality BTech construction graduate that meets the needs of the SA construction sector.

This particular paper presents the views of employers in an exploratory pilot study on their perceived acceptability and value of a capstone course to both students and industry practitioners.