MALAYSIAN QUANTITY SURVEYING EDUCATION FRAMEWORK N. Zakaria1, M.E. Che Munaaim2, S.

Iqbal Khan Centre of Project & Facilities Management Faculty of the Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Phone number: 603-79675320 Fax : 603-79675713
1

norhanimz@um.edu.my, 2ehsan@um.edu.my Abstract

In recent years, there has been increasing concern on the quality of Malaysian surveying graduates joining the profession. [Chua Siow Leng, 2004]. There are more complaints from employers on the standard and competencies of surveying graduates. Fingers have been pointed out to the universities for not providing the appropriate curriculum and course content. On the other hand, due to the rapid changes taking place in the profession and in the construction industry in particular, it has becomes increasingly important to have well qualified graduates who are able to meet the challenges and increasing demands of the profession. The fundamental question is how can the university courses be structured with the intention that more and more relevant areas of study can be addressed so that firms requiring employees with strong skills can be achieved. According to Chua Siow Leng [2004], one of the ultimate factors that determines the quality of a professional degree course is the curriculum and course content must be balanced, current and meet the needs of the local profession and industry. Consequently, this paper seeks to examine some issues concerning the education of quantity surveying programs in Malaysia and whether the scope of syllabus in quantity surveying courses in the higher learning institution fulfill the needs of the industry. Keywords: course content curricular, quantity surveying program, syllabus.

1. Introduction Malaysian has recently witnessed rapid development in higher education in general and surveying education in particular. [Chua,2000]. Due to rapid changes and diversification in both the profession and the construction industry, it has become more important to produce well qualified and competent graduates to meet the challenges and the increasing demand of the profession. Traditionally, quantity surveyors in Malaysia performed the following key roles and functions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Provide estimates during the initial stages of the process of construction procurement for the project initiators; Prepare the Bill of Quantities from architectural, engineering and other specialist drawings; Describing the material, workmanship and the quantities required; and Analyse tenders, prepare and analyze cost data and perform contract administration including evaluate interim payments to contractors, assess variations and claims and settle contract accounts. [Khairuddin Abdul Rashid, 2002] However, as the construction projects grow in complexity and size, it is immediately apparent that many quantity surveyors have diversified into providing project and building management services. [John Wong, 2002]. The new aforementioned roles and functions suggest that quantity surveying, within the context of the construction industry, is multi-disciplinary in nature. Quantity surveying studies encompasses various elements which include law, economic, management, administration, technology. ICT, manufacturing, mathematics, operational research, etc. The roles of quantity surveyors have also been diversified in areas such as oil and gas, taxation, insurance valuation and several other areas.

In recent years, there has been increasing concern on the quality of surveying graduates joining the profession. [Chua,2000]. There are more complaints from employers on the standard and competencies of surveying graduates. Fingers have been pointed out to the universities for not providing the appropriate curriculum and course content. The inference is that the universities that produce these graduates are either not teaching as much measurement, or they are not teaching it as well as they did in the past. [Rick Best, 2005]. Both of these points have been argued by several other authors and some educationalists. However, the problem does not only focus on the graduates level of knowledge related to the profession. There have also been complaints on the graduates level of soft skills and attitude. As quantity surveying expands and includes an ever-widening scope of services, how can the university courses be structured so that more and more areas of study can be addressed?. Courses can not simply be made longer, instead priorities have to be assigned and the coverage of some material will be reduced or perhaps eliminated entirely, so that new material can be accommodated. Other than that, how can the higher institutions produce graduates that are equally competent in both their theoretically knowledge and at the same time have all the qualities and good attributes. Some mechanisms need to be devised and implemented so that firms requiring graduates with strong interpersonal skills can be achieved. 2. Quantity Surveying Education in Malaysia The quantity surveying program in Malaysia was first offered by University of Technology of Malaysia (UTM) in 1952. It evolved from old Technical College whose main task was to provide skilled man power for the Government departments. The growth of quantity surveying education was followed by MARA University of Technology (UiTM) in 1967 offering quantity surveying program in its diploma course. The course offered were similarly conceived and based as those UTMs job- orientated and British based curriculum was the common feature. UTM began its Bachelor program

in 1973 and UiTM in 1976 respectively. These two universities are considered as the premier institutions as far as quantity surveying education in Malaysia is concerned. [ Khairuddin Abdul Rashid,2002] In the 1990s, quantity surveying education became more prominent in Malaysia with the setting up of Bachelor of Quantity Surveying programs in University of Malaya (UM), University of Science Malaysia (USM) and the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) respectively. Table 1, is the list of Public Universities conducting the quantity surveying programs. Malaysias economic development and transformation process has created the environment for the construction industry and fuelled growth in construction development projects (Fadhlin Abdullah, 2001). Due to the rapid growth in the industry, the number of Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia offering the course has been mushrooming in the past few years. The rapid development in our construction industry and the increase demand of quantity surveying graduates either in diploma or degree level has forced the private institutions of higher learning to introduce the quantity surveying program within their university and college compound. The names of the universities and colleges that offer the programs shows in Table 2.

TABLE 1 :
No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

List of Public Universities Conducting Quantity Surveying Programs.

Public University Program Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours) Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours) Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours) Bachelor of Science in Housing, Building and Planning (Quantity Surveying) Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

MARA University of Technology University of Technology Malaysia University of Malaya University of Science Malaysia International Islamic University Malaysia

TABLE 2 :
No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

List of Private Institutions Conducting Quantity Surveying Programs.

Private Institution Program Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Higher National Diploma in Quantity Surveying Technology Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Hons). Bachelor of Science in Building Economics and Quantity Surveying 2+1 Bachelor of Science (Hons) Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Diploma in Quantity Surveying Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Hons) Certificate in Technology (Quantity Surveying)

Kolej Inti ( Sarawak) Kolej Bersatu Sarawak Institut Teknologi Pertama

Institut Teknologi Suria Institut Teknologi Binaan YPJ Institut Eksekutif Kolej ITJ ( Institut Teknologi Jaya) Kolej Universiti Teknologi Antarabangsa Twintech ( Damansara) Institut Teknologi Imperia Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR Kuala Lumpur) Stamford College (Petaling Jaya). Taylor's College (Petaling Jaya). IUCTT School of Technology

3. Concept of Quantity Surveyor Education In its broadest sense, education is defined as any process by which an individual gains insight, or develops knowledge or skills. Universities and other Institutions of Higher Learning are expected to train the future workforce and assist in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. [ Rohana Mahbub,2001] The contents of the educational system would necessarily be concept based and practice oriented. The two is indivisible. [Shaary Yahya,1978] The question is, which of this component should take precedent, the concept- based or the practice-oriented components?. According to Rick Best [2005], universities do not and never have, trained people in a purely vocational sense. In the past, students from many areas, including engineering and medicine, have been required to complete a few subjects such as philosophy, psychology or English literature, as these were seen as part as of an advanced education. In the current climate of rapid change, universities would fail in providing industrial relevant graduates if they didnt provide a suitable balance in the curricular of the courses that they offer and if they were not preparing students in a way that would enable them to adapt to a rapid changing environment in which current technical skills may become redundant. 4. Employers Expectations of Graduates According to the data received from a research done by Rohana Mahbub [2001], most employers require graduates entering their firm to have social and communication skills, commitment, initiative to work and learn, mental and physical endurance, and the ability to speak and written in English. In the research, employers were also asked to suggest other areas they think were important to further enhance the graduates ability to work. The majority of respondents indicated that computer knowledge and information technology as the most important area to be emphasized on during the course of study. Other areas that need to be stressed on, according to the respondents were construction technology, construction contracts, more exposure to the QS profession and practice procedures (through industrial training), project management, commitment, creativity,

self motivation, good communication, presentation and writing skills and negotiation skills. This clearly indicates that graduates have to equip them self not only with knowledge but also skills in dealing with people. In her paper presentation Malaysias Manpower Requirements for 21st Century : Matching Industry Needs with Educational Output, [Adelina Iskandar, 2002] the author describes what are the requirements that the employers looking for from the graduates. Figure 1 shows what are employers want. The profile of an ideal graduate The profile of an ideal graduate described by the author [Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel, 2002] consists of 3 main areas, namely; high performance in hard skills, soft skills and competitive skills. Table 3 shows the details of the skills acquired by an ideal graduate. 5. Research Methodology This paper aims to present the Malaysian quantity surveying education framework and whether the scope of syllabus in quantity surveying courses in the higher institutions fulfill the needs of the industry. Scope of this study was limited to QS programs offered by the public universities. The above aim is supported by the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. To identify all public universities and private colleges currently conducting quantity surveying program; To obtain the program structure in terms of academic workload for each public university conducting the program; To identify and establish the employers expectations on the level of quantity surveying graduates skills and knowledge; To analyses whether the current syllabus fulfills the industry needs and the relevance of what is being thought during quantity surveying program.

What employers want

We want multi-crossed skilled workers We want thinking workers We want English speaking employees Graduates that are made for industry

[Adelina Iskandar, 2002]

FIGURE 1 : What Employer Want.

TABLE 3 : Profile of an Ideal Graduate [ Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel, 2002] Math, Technologies, Economic, Human Resource, Science, ICT skills, Business, Global Politics, Global General Knowledge, Geography, Teach Strategies Creativity, Innovative, Multi Lingual, Communication Skills, Analytical Skills, Helicopter View, Leadership Skills. Drive for result, Can do attitude, Attention to details, Teamwork, Consensus.

Hard Skills

Soft Skills

Competitive Skills

In order to fulfill the objectives, the study was divided into two types of input, namely: literature review and questionnaire survey. A literature review was carried out to identify public universities and private colleges currently conducting quantity surveying programs and to obtain the program structure in terms of academic workload for each public university. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 150 firms around Klang Valley and Selangor areas. The revised questionnaire comprised 19 questions with a mixture of yes/no, scale, multiple choice and open ended questions. The purpose of this questionnaire was to determine the employers perceptions on the current syllabus offered by various institutions offering quantity surveying programs and to identify the expectations of employer of the quantity surveying graduates level of knowledge and skills. A total of 22% response rate were received and 58.8% of the respondents were company directors.

5. Findings and Discussion of Results. The findings and results for this study are presented in this following topics: a) employers expectation of graduates level of skills. b) employers expectation of graduates level of knowledge. c) employers views on industrial training d) the relevancy of QS curricular to the industry. Employers expectation of graduates level of skills. Respondents were asked to give a scale of 1 (Low) to 5 (High) for nine areas namely Social and Communication Skill, Level of Spoken and Written English, Presentation Skill, Negotiation Skill, Independent Attitude, Crisis Management, Commitment , Initiative to Work and Leadership. The purpose of asking this question is to determine the employers requirements and expectations of graduates entering their firms in the above mentioned nine areas. The responses are displayed in Table 5.1 where it can be seen that a large number of employers required graduates to master most of the skills. All nine areas questionnaire were all given a high score of importance as the least score was even as high as 3.82 as shown in Table 4. TABLE 4 : Employers Expectations of Graduates Level of Skills Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Commitment Initiative to Work Independent Attitude Level of Spoken and Written English Social and Communication Skill Negotiation Skill Leadership Presentation Skill Crisis Management Variable Mean 4.71 4.65 4.53 4.41 4.38 4.24 4.21 4.18 3.82

Employers expectations of graduates level of knowledge Respondents were presented with a list of 35 areas of knowledge culled from a study of the literature. The detailed analysis for each area of knowledge as shown in Table 5, indicates that Measurement (4.35) is the highest rank level of knowledge needs to be acquired by graduates. The second and third highest ranks are English for Professionals and Communications (4.21) and Proficiency Skills in English (4.18). Employers placed less important scale on several areas of knowledge which include Land Surveying with 2.82 mean, Property Investment and Valuation with 2.79 mean and Auto Cad with 2.68 mean. Further analysis of this question reveals that besides core knowledge of quantity surveying profession, employers indicated that they require graduates with a good command of English language. These employers may think that mastering English language is a key factor in facing globalization era.

TABLE 5 :
Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Employers Expectations of Graduates Level of Knowledge

Variable Measurement English for Professionals Communications Proficiency Skills in English Understanding Working Drawing Construction Technology Analysis of price Estimating Professionals Practice and Contractual Procedures English for Academic Communications Design Cost Evaluation Structure Construction and Building Economics Data Analysis Construction Law Building Services Civil Engineering Construction Value Engineering and Management Management of Projects ICT for the Built Environment Integrated Project Industrial Training Value Management Administrative Law International Construction Procurement Total Quality Management Dissertation Facilities Management Project Simulations Housing Studies Property Management Environmental and Material Sciences Principles of Islam in Construction Procurement Land Surveying Property Investment and Valuation Auto-Cad Mean 4.35 4.21 4.18 4.18 4.03 4.00 3.94 3.94 3.91 3.85 3.82 3.74 3.68 3.59 3.53 3.41 3.39 3.35 3.35 3.35 3.32 3.26 3.21 3.15 3.12 3.06 3.06 3.03 3.00 2.97 2.91 2.85 2.82 2.79 2.68

Respondents views on industrial training. In this section the respondents were asked to give their opinions on three aspects related to the industrial training which are as follows: a) The importance of industrial training b) Duration of industrial training c) Time frame of industrial training The importance of industrial training All the respondents unanimously agreed that practical training during the course of study is needed and is highly beneficial to graduates (Figure 2). The respondents were also inquired to state reasons for the answers given. Generally, most respondents believed that industrial training is important to give some exposure to students pertaining to the actual working scenario so that they will gain more experience and knowledge about the profession. Other than that, respondents also stated that through industrial training, students can familiarize themselves with actual working conditions.

Duration of industrial training As shown in Figure 3, the majority of respondents (47%) believed that the most appropriate duration for practical training is 3 to 6 months. Generally, most employers agreed that industrial training should be long enough to enable graduates to get more involved with real life projects.

YES, 100%

FIGURE 2 : The Importance of Industrial Training

Duration for Industrial Training

9 to 12 month 18% 3 to 6 month 47%

6 to 9 month 35%

3 to 6 month

6 to 9 month

9 to 12 month

FIGURE 3 :

Duration for industrial training

Industrial training time frame The respondents were asked to choose the most appropriate time frame to arrange practical training for graduates during their studies in the university. The options were either between semesters or at the end of the program. From Figure 4, 74% of respondents suggested it is better to provide the industrial training for graduates between semesters of the program. The respondents were also asked to state reason for their answer. Most respondents believed by doing the industrial between semesters, graduates will be able to rectify problems and they still have time to improve their performance before joining the industry again. Some respondents felt that by providing industrial training between semesters, it would enable the students to relate experience to theory and students can understand better conceptually before their final semester. One of the constructive comments made was, by doing industrial training between semesters, employers can give feedbacks to the higher institutions on the graduates level of performance, and through these feedbacks, certain modification of the syllabus can be made to fulfill what the industry needs. The remaining of respondents (26%) believed it is better to set the practical training at the end of the course program because they felt that the graduates can relate and understand better since they have studied most of the scopes of work on theoretical basis. Other than that, respondents believed it would be much easier to absorb graduates into their firms upon students graduation. Further comments made by the respondents were students will be able to involve in more tasks during training. Based on the comments made by employers, it is clear that both time frames have their own pros and cons. However, the aim of this study is to find ways to improve our education system so that graduates produced by higher institutions are exactly what the industry needs. So, it can be concluded that, if our educationalists are determined enough to improve the quality of the graduates, industrial training between semesters is one way of doing it. By providing the industrial training in this kind of way, the employers can give some feedbacks on the performance of the graduates from time to time to the universities. Course content can be up dated periodically according to the report made by the respective employers. By doing this, educationalists can identify mistakes and rectify them.

Industrial Training

End of Program 26%

Between Semesters 74%

Between Semesters

End of Program

FIGURE 4 :

Employers Perception on Industrial Training Time Frame

The curricular of QS program. Level of relevancy of QS curricular to the industry. The level of relevancy of QS curricular to the industry was another aspect explored by this survey. The respondents were given three scales of percentage, i.e. i) 30% to 50% relevant, ii) 50 % to 70% relevant and iii) 70% to 100% relevant. As shown in Figures 5, 58% of the respondents believed that the curricular is 50% to 70% relevant to the industry, 21% employers chose that the curricular is 70% to 100% relevant, and 21% employers felt that the curricular is 30% to 50% relevant to the industry. Even though more than half of employers agreed that the curricular as adequately relevant to the industry, there are still some employers who thought otherwise. It shows that there is still imperfection in the syllabus offered by the universities.

Level of Relevancy of QS Curricular to the Industry

21%

21%

58%

30% to 50%

50% to 70%

70% to 100%

FIGURE 5 : Level of Relevancy of QS Curricular to the Industry

Current QS curricular offered by the Institutions of Higher Learning. The respondents were also asked to indicate whether the courses are up-to-date with the industry. Interestingly, 68% of respondents reported that the current quantity surveying curricular offered by various institutions are up-to-date with the industry while 32% of respondents suggested the opposite (see Figure 6). The respondents might suggest that the curricular are not up-to-date with the industry due to diversification of quantity surveyors roles. Most of the respondents in this survey are still carrying out traditional roles of quantity surveyor. However, some of the respondent do offer additional services and not strictly bound to the traditional roles of quantity surveyors. Some of the respondents also offer their services in oil and gas, and in contract administration. So, this may indicate why several of the respondents thought that the curricular offered is not in line with the industry.

Are the Courses Offered Up-to-date with the Industry

NO 32%

YES 68%

YES FIGURE 6 :

NO

Quantity Surveying Program Curricular 6. Conclusion

The main objective of this study was to determine the QS curricular offered by the higher institutions of learning in Malaysia to what the industry needs. This paper reports on the results of a recently conducted survey with a view to: a) identify the employers expectations on graduates level of skills. b) identify the employers expectations on graduates level of knowledge. c) exploring the employers views on industrial training d) analysing the relevancy of QS curricular to the industry.

Most respondents required graduates entering their firms to have all the skills mentioned with commitment, initiative to work and independent attitude were the highest ranks. Of nine areas, employer placed less important on negotiation skills, leadership, presentation skill and crisis management. These employers may think that these skills can be built up later on through working practice and maturity. In terms of graduates level of knowledge, the study indicates that measurement (4.35) is the highest requirement of graduates. The second and third highest ranks are English for professionals and communications (4.21) and proficiency skills in English (4.18) All the respondents agreed that industrial training is needed during the course of study and is highly beneficial to graduates. Furthermore, 47% of the respondents reported that the most appropriate duration for industrial training is 3 to 6 months and the ideal time frame to provide industrial training is between semesters of program (74%). The results of this study prove that it is indeed difficult to include all the related areas of profession in the syllabus structure of the course. The results in this study show that 68% of respondents perceived the courses offered are up-to-date with the industry while, 58% of the respondents rated the relevancy of the course offered are 50% to 70% relevant. Hence, it can be concluded that even though there is still imperfection in the content of courses offered to what the industry needs, it is not impossible for higher learning institutions to figure out mechanism to achieve a highly relevant course content to reflect the industry needs.

7. References Adelina Iskandar (2002) Malaysias Manpower Requirements for 21st Century: Matching Industry Needs with Educational Output. Paper presented at the Malaysian Education Summit 2004 Seminar, Kuala Lumpur. Chua, S.L.(2000).Some Recent Development in Quantity Surveying Education - Issues and Challenges. The Surveyor ,35, 4-9. Chua, S.L.(2000).Towards Enhancing Surveying Education. The Surveyor, 35 (2),16-20 Danapalan.V.(1999,March).Develop strong industry & university partnership to meet market needs. Paper presented at the National Education Summit, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Fadhlin Abdullah (2005). Preliminary Findings of The Research on The Profile of The Quantity Surveying Practice in Malaysia.QS National Convention 2005, 10 11 August 2005, Hilton Kuala Lumpur. John,W. (2002).Challenges for the quantity surveying profession in the light of new developments. The Surveyor, 4, 19-23. Khairuddin Abdul Rashid (2002).A study on the Curricula for the Bachelor of Quantity Surveying Courses in Malaysia. The Surveyor, 3 , 17-22. Rick, B.(2005).How much measurement is enough? Quantity Surveying Education in Australia. The Journal of the Australia institute of QS. The Building Economist,1620. Rohana Mahbub (2001).Perception and Expectation of Employers on the Quality of Quantity Surveying Graduates Entering the Construction Industry Quantity Surveyor National conference, 8-9 May 2001 (pp.1-9). Shaary Yahya.(1978).Academic and Professional Training of Quantity Surveyors : A Malaysian Perspective, Seminar on Financial and Control in the Construction Industry Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,8-19 March 1978 ( pp 2-13). Tengku Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff.(2002, August). Qualities of students required for work in the private sector. Paper presented at the Seminar between Industrial Sector & Institute of Higher Learning, Bangi, Kuala Lumpur.