Project Manager’s Skills Acquisition: A Comparative Study of Indigenous and Multinational Construction Firms

Abstract Project manager’s skills which are the competencies required for successful completion of the project play an important role in the construction industry, therefore acquiring these skills is significant for project success. However, indigenous construction firms compete with their multinational counterparts for the available skilled workforce. The study, therefore, investigates the level of project managers’ skills acquisition in indigenous and multinational construction firms in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. One hundred and thirty-three questionnaires (106 indigenous and 27 multinational) were administered to project managers and 106 retrieved and valid for analysis representing 73% response rate. The techniques for analysing the data are mean score and t-test. The study revealed that the most important skill type as perceived by project managers is a technical skill and there is no significant difference in the level of skill acquisition by project managers in indigenous and multinational construction firms. Hence, the study concludes that the categorisation of construction firms has no effect on the level of skills acquisition by project managers; therefore, it plays no role in project managers’ skills acquisition. Project managers should strive towards developing themselves through training for improved performance and for successful completion of construction projects.