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

1norhanimz@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. Provide estimates during the initial stages of the process of construction

procurement for the project initiators;

2. Prepare the Bill of Quantities from architectural, engineering and other

specialist drawings;

3. Describing the material, workmanship and the quantities required; and

4. 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 UTM’s 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.

Malaysia’s 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 : List of Public Universities Conducting Quantity Surveying Programs.

TABLE 2 : List of Private Institutions Conducting Quantity Surveying Programs.

No. Public University Program

1. MARA University of Technology Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

2. University of Technology Malaysia Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

3. University of Malaya Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

4. University of Science Malaysia Bachelor of Science in Housing, Building and Planning (Quantity Surveying)

5. International Islamic University Malaysia

Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

No. Private Institution Program

1. Kolej Inti ( Sarawak) Diploma in Quantity Surveying

2. Kolej Bersatu Sarawak Diploma in Quantity Surveying

3. Institut Teknologi Pertama

Diploma in Quantity Surveying Higher National Diploma in Quantity Surveying Technology

4. Institut Teknologi Suria Diploma in Quantity Surveying

5. Institut Teknologi Binaan YPJ Diploma in Quantity Surveying

6. Institut Eksekutif Diploma in Quantity Surveying

7. Kolej ITJ ( Institut Teknologi Jaya) Diploma in Quantity Surveying

8.

Kolej Universiti Teknologi Antarabangsa Twintech ( Damansara)

Diploma in Quantity Surveying & Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Hons).

9. Institut Teknologi Imperia Bachelor of Science in Building Economics and Quantity Surveying 2+1

10. Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR Kuala Lumpur) Bachelor of Science (Hons) Quantity Surveying

11. Stamford College (Petaling Jaya). Diploma in Quantity Surveying

12. Taylor's College (Petaling Jaya). Diploma in Quantity Surveying

13. IUCTT Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Hons)

14. School of Technology Certificate in Technology (Quantity Surveying)

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 didn’t 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 Malaysia’s

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. To identify all public universities and private colleges currently conducting

quantity surveying program;

2. To obtain the program structure in terms of academic workload for each public

university conducting the program;

3. To identify and establish the employers’ expectations on the level of quantity

surveying graduates’ skills and knowledge;

4. To analyses whether the current syllabus fulfills the industry needs and the

relevance of what is being thought during quantity surveying program.

FIGURE 1 : What Employer Want.

TABLE 3 : Profile of an Ideal Graduate [ Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel, 2002]

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.

Hard Skills

Math, Technologies, Economic, Human Resource, Science, ICT skills, Business, Global Politics, Global General Knowledge, Geography, Teach Strategies

Soft Skills Creativity, Innovative, Multi Lingual, Communication Skills, Analytical Skills, Helicopter View, Leadership Skills.

Competitive Skills Drive for result, Can do attitude, Attention to details, Teamwork, Consensus.

“ We want thinking workers” What employers want

“ We want multi-crossed skilled workers”

“ We want English speaking employees”

“Graduates that are made for industry”

[Adelina Iskandar, 2002]

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 graduate’s 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 Graduate’s Level of Skills

Ranking Variable Mean 1 Commitment 4.71 2 Initiative to Work 4.65 3 Independent Attitude 4.53 4 Level of Spoken and Written English 4.41 5 Social and Communication Skill 4.38 6 Negotiation Skill 4.24 7 Leadership 4.21 8 Presentation Skill 4.18 9 Crisis Management 3.82

Employers’ expectations of graduate’s 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 : Employers’ Expectations of Graduates’ Level of Knowledge

Ranking Variable Mean 1 Measurement 4.35 2 English for Professionals Communications 4.21 3 Proficiency Skills in English 4.18 4 Understanding Working Drawing 4.18 5 Construction Technology 4.03 6 Analysis of price 4.00 7 Estimating 3.94 8 Professionals Practice and Contractual Procedures 3.94 9 English for Academic Communications 3.91

10 Design Cost Evaluation 3.85 11 Structure 3.82 12 Construction and Building Economics 3.74 13 Data Analysis 3.68 14 Construction Law 3.59 15 Building Services 3.53 16 Civil Engineering Construction 3.41 17 Value Engineering and Management 3.39 18 Management of Projects 3.35 19 ICT for the Built Environment 3.35 20 Integrated Project 3.35 21 Industrial Training 3.32 22 Value Management 3.26 23 Administrative Law 3.21 24 International Construction Procurement 3.15 25 Total Quality Management 3.12 26 Dissertation 3.06 27 Facilities Management 3.06 28 Project Simulations 3.03 29 Housing Studies 3.00 30 Property Management 2.97 31 Environmental and Material Sciences 2.91 32 Principles of Islam in Construction Procurement 2.85 33 Land Surveying 2.82 34 Property Investment and Valuation 2.79 35 Auto-Cad 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

FIGURE 3 : Duration for industrial training

Duration for Industrial Training

3 to 6 month47%

6 to 9 month 35%

9 to 12 month 18%

3 to 6 month 6 to 9 month 9 to 12 month

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.

FIGURE 4 : Employer’s 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.

Industrial Training

Between Semesters

74%

End of Program26%

Between Semesters End of Program

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.

Level of Relevancy of QS Curricular to the Industry

21%

58%

21%

30% to 50% 50% to 70% 70% to 100%

FIGURE 6 : 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.

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

YES 68%

NO 32%

YES NO

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) Malaysia’s 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,16–20.

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.