Research and development, skills requirements, and achieving excellence in construction

The contribution from R&D to the development of the construction industry is
immense as it leads the path to enhance the effectiveness of construction
organisations and to raise the international competitiveness through technological
advances and managerial developments. Further, R&D acts as a valuable input for the
construction organisation by developing new products, materials, advanced
construction processes, to meet the customer requirements and to address the
economic, environmental and resource constraints. One of the essential inputs for
successful R&D has been identified as skilled personnel. However, lack of skilled
people particularly graduates and post graduates in the construction industry have led
to a skills shortage to develop R&D activities. Further, lack of skilled people in
construction organisations has resulted in reducing the absorption capacity and
thereby the outcomes of R&D activities are not properly absorbed and put into
practice. Therefore, skills shortage in the construction industry has been seen as the
greatest threat to the long-term stability of the UK research base. Accordingly, the
aim of this presentation is to visit the reasons behind the skills shortage in R&D
organisations. Further, it will review the factors that can be contributed to success of
the R&D personals and to identify the ways of managing them for the future
advantage of the organisation