Technical Competency Of Construction Managers In The Ethiopian Construction Industry: A Case Of Addis Ababa

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Ministry of Urban Development and Construction and was about the technical competency of construction managers in the Ethiopian construction industry. The unique nature of the construction industry, coupled with the challenges of global competitiveness and changing regulatory requirements, has created an excessive demand for highly knowledgeable and competent construction managers. Technical competencies are professional knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) and refer to the attributes required to perform a job properly. This study aimed to evaluate the technical competence of construction managers in the Ethiopian construction industry. This research was mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches and used descriptive research methods and purposive sampling techniques. The aim of this research was to evaluate the technical competence of construction managers in the Ethiopian construction industry. Population of this research was grade one contractors who are working in the construction industry of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa because of their exposure in different types of projects are expected have better construction management competency concept and practice. All possible efforts was exerted to make the data collection instruments easily understandable by the respondents so that the intended information was collected, thereby increasing the trustworthiness of the ultimate findings. The internal consistency of items, which is the scale's level of homogeneity, was measured to be checked using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient on SPSS. The questionnaire and interviewees' data were organized in a suitable way to analyze with the Likert scale form using the relative importance index (RII) to weigh the technical competence of construction managers in the Ethiopian construction industry. Therefore, the technical competency of construction managers was essential for construction managers to succeed in the construction industry. It enables them to comprehend and apply technical knowledge, performance, and personal attributes in their role; they can deal with the latest trends in construction techniques and technology, ensuring the construction meets or exceeds the expected standards. Overall, construction managers with high levels of technical competency contribute to the efficient and successful construction projects.