Competencies of Professional Quantity Surveyors in a Developing Economy

The effectiveness of consultants in meeting the needs of clients in the built environment of a developing economy is influenced by their recognition and application of context-relevant competencies. This paper presents a model of the important competencies required of those providing current quantity surveying services and discusses the critical inputs expected of key role-players. A review of related literature followed by in-depth interviews of selected practitioners yielded twenty-three defined competencies that were presented in a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 150 practitioners from a proportional stratified random sample of professional quantity surveyors in South Africa. The techniques of re-scaling, factor analysis, content analysis and ranking were applied to the survey feedback. Results showed a high degree of consistency among all respondents, regardless of demographic differences, in the ranking of the importance of the competencies. A four-factor solution was obtained from factor analysis of the rated competencies and suggested that the body of knowledge, skills and values that underpin quantity surveying could be represented in a simplified model. The four competency dimensions, in order of importance are labelled Relationships, Built environment objectives, Technical skills, and Property economics. To sustain the model, academic institutions, individual quantity surveying firms and the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors have defined roles to play.