The reflective practitioner learner autonomy and action learning assessing capability professional bodies and the needs of employers values and models conclusion - the challenge of developing the capable practitioner.

Developing the Capable Practitioner. Professional Capability through Higher Education. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Building Technology graduates from Ghanaian Polytechnics seek employment in the construction industry, yet little information is known as to whether their tertiary education is really related to and meeting the actual needs of their prospective employers in the construction industry. The tracer study was conducted to ascertain the performance of Higher National Diploma (HND) Building Technology graduates and the extent to which their academic training meets the employers’ needs in the construction industry. In order to obtain a good assessment of the skills (technical and non-technical) and competencies of Polytechnic HND building Technology graduates, purposive sampling technique was used. Construction firms with Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing classification of D3K3 and above who have been in operation for a minimum of one year and have employed Polytechnic HND Building Technology graduates were identified. Out of the firms identified, thirty-five (35) were selected using simple random sampling technique. A Structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to site engineers, site supervisors, quantity surveyors, operation managers and project managers in the selected construction firms. Descriptive statistic was used to analyse the data using. The study revealed that Polytechnic HND graduates in the construction industry were performing creditably since the index of performance of site supervisors, quantity surveyors and site managers were generally above average. Apart from the academic competence, graduates possessed non-academic attributes which the employers emphasized as criteria for graduates’ employability and performance in the construction industry. These attributes included verbal communication, teamwork, time management, commitment and interpersonal skills. Keywords : Building Technology, Graduates, Polytechnic, Construction Industry, Performance

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Performance of Higher National Diploma of Building Technology Graduates in the Construction Industry: A Tracer Study in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

The Polytechnic curriculum in Nigeria has been assessed to unduly emphasize the cognitive and psychomotor skills to the detriment of affective skills. This study aimed at assessing the extent to which building construction graduates possess such Career Growth competencies as resourcefulness, enthusiasm, initiative, ambition, efficiency, perseverance, decision making, independence, determination, accuracy, punctuality, creativity, devotion and interest. One research question was asked and one hypothesis formulated to guide the study while a 14 item questionnaire was used to answer and analyse them. The population of the study was 163 made up of 78 lecturers, 40 managers and 45 project supervisors. Using survey research design, stratified and purposive sampling techniques, data were obtained from the 3 polytechnics in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. Analysis of data using descriptive statistics and one way ANOVA revealed that career growth competencies, were highly needed by construction workers for effective performance. Furthermore, existing polytechnic graduates do not adequately possess the required career growth competencies. It was recommended among others, that conscious effort be made to develop curriculum materials that will help students acquire these identified career growth competencies and incorporate same into the current National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) curriculum.

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Effect of personality traits on career growth competencies of building construction graduates of polytechnics in south-east nigerian

This article dwells on the importance of current management strategies of forest resources and the way forward vis-a-vis the sustainability of the Tropical High Forest (THF) for livelihood, housing and commerce. Over seventy percent of the Cross River State population, occupying about two thousand communities live in rural areas with their characteristic mud-walled and thatch-roofed houses. Their mainstay being crude agricultural practices involving mixed cropping, hunting, non-timber forest product gathering, fishing and other resources exploitation. The high poverty level of these agrarian communities has resulted in mass deforestation of the virgin rain forest biochure for lucre and livelihood. If the importance of the rural environment as a source of industrial raw-material, waste product recycling and a life support regulatory organ has to be appreciated, there is need for sustainable forest and land-use options to protect the natural habitats and biodiversities of our rural communities. Efforts to control the unsustainable timber logging, other forms of deforestation and poor land utilization such as concession granting, check posts/control points, tariff review, revocation orders, awareness creation, formation of community management committees, and introduction of alternative forest and land-use options, among others, are covered in this article. Given the maxims of local, national and global problems confronting the implementation of these strategies, recommendations are made on enhancing the roles played by the Cross River State Forestry Development Department and Land Ordinance Act for sustainable land-use and management of the State’s forestry estates. The article concludes that enormous benefits would be reaped by Cross River State for the sustainable development of its local communities if adequate steps are taken to conserve its forest resources.

David O. Edu

Papers

Effect of personality traits on career growth competencies of building construction graduates of polytechnics in south-east nigerian

Forest Resources Management for Sustainable Development in Cross River State of Nigeria: Challenges of the 21st Century