Employment of Unskilled Craft Workers in the UAE Construction Projects: Explicating the Reasons
Mohammed Albattah1, Adejumo Saheed2, Muhammed Tariq Shafiq3
1Mohammed Albattah, Department of Architectural Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE.
2Adejumo Saheed, Department of Projects and Technical Services , Westfield Global Construction Ltd, headquartered at GarkiDistrict, CBD, Abuja, Nigeria.
3Muhammed Tariq Shafiq, Department of Architectural Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE.
Manuscript received on 05 September 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 29 September 2019 | Manuscript Published on 29 June 2020 | PP: 410-414 | Volume-8 Issue-10S2 August 2019 | Retrieval Number: J107608810S19//2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.J1076.08810S19
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The United Arab Emirates construction industry is beset with negative project performance outputs, such as defects, low productivity, delay in completion, and higher costs. Most critical among the recorded reasons for having these undesirable outputs is the engagement of unskilled craft workers. However, the demand for construction projects in the UAE is continually increasing, especially after Dubai won hosting of Expo 2020, as this consequently translates to increased demand for skilled construction craft workers, if optimal project delivery performance must be achieved. Therefore, subject matters related to skillfulness and productivity of construction craft workers become research windows for academic scholars and industry investigators in the UAE built environment. The main purpose of this study is to explicate the reasons behind employment of unskilled craft workers in the construction projects from the management level perspective. To meet this purpose, the authors conducted in-depth interview with construction project managers. The results show number of reasons why unskilled craft workers are been hired and the effect of specialized certificates on hiring the craft workers.
Keywords: craft workers, Dubai construction labour market, hiring, skills, and reasons.
Scope of the Article: Construction Engineering