Graduate Competency and Employer Satisfaction: A Concern for Employment Sustainability of Nigerian Real Estate Graduates

Abstract

Real estate educational institutions in Nigeria seem to rely on student academic performance, programme accreditation status and short time industrial training for self-assessment of their undergraduate programme performance. Little emphasis has been placed on the post-graduation industrial performance to monitor the level of Real Estate Graduate Employer (REGE)’s satisfaction of their Real Estate Graduate (REG)’s competency. This study focused on the ‘hands on’ feedback of the competency of REG (university and polytechnic) compares with the level of satisfaction of their employers (accredited real estate firms) in Nigeria. Data were collected with the use of questionnaire, administered on 339 head of real estate firms in Nigeria and analysed with frequency/percentages and Likert summation scaling/ranking. The finding indicates a mismatch between employer’s competency requirements and satisfaction with REG industrial competency especially in commercial awareness coupled with decreasing competency and increasing employer’s dissatisfaction. The consequent effect may be a threat to the relevance of real estate education in Nigeria tertiary institutions. The study recommended among others, a need for tertiary institutions (offering real estate programme) in Nigeria to identify commercial awareness as a vital competency requirement of the REGE and effectively incorporate such in their curriculum towards stemming the rising substitutes for REG.