This book will provide readers with an understanding of the employability concept and develop an employability skills improvement model to enhance the employability of built environment graduates to foster economic development. The developed model determines the influence of generic skills, discipline specific skills, work-integrated learning, emotional intelligence, university-industry collaboration outcomes and 4IR knowledge in predicting the outcomes of improved graduate employability. The model is developed with a theoretical lens on existing frameworks of employability and skills development. Whilst drawing comparisons with countries such as the UK, USA, Australia and Canada, the authors present the results of a two-stage Delphi survey in South Africa as a case study on the current state of skills development and on the skills of the future. The case study is presented in line with the South Africa’s long-term National Development Plan (NDP) aimed at developing the key capabilities and skills of its citizens by ensuring quality education on a broader scale by 2030. As automation continues to rapidly advance, the pressures on universities to revamp and restructure their curricula have become increasingly necessary. This book recommends that higher education institutions urgently need to intensify their efforts by introducing significant modifications to the science and technology curriculum to enable students to develop and acquire competencies in the rapidly emerging areas of artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, advanced simulation, data communication, system automation, real-time inventory operations, cloud computing, and information technologies. This implies that universities’ curriculum should be infused with 4IR thinking within the conventional primary sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics, with greater emphasis on digital literacy to boost 4IR understanding amongst the graduates. The book is therefore of interest to researchers and policy makers in the built environment that are placed in academia, the construction industry or at consultancy levels, it provides significant recommendations for universities as they intensify their efforts to develop graduates for the future.

This book is a collection of extended versions of papers presented at the KES Covid-19 Challenge international summit. The book focusses on technological, economic, and social developments to combat the effects of global and local disasters as well as the ways in which the recovery from Covid can be used to build more resilient and sustainable communities, industry, and improve the environment. It also discusses the global challenges of human-influenced climate change. There are chapters on making cities and communities more resilient through energy self-sufficiency, food production, resilient housing and buildings, human health and intelligent systems e.g. for forecasting and prediction.

A Neoliberal Framework for Urban Housing Development in the Global South highlights the factors which predict urban housing development from developing countries’ perspective, providing a guide for countries in the sub-Sahara.

Through a critical review of existing related theories and models, the authors address gaps in existing workforce management studies and propose a conceptual model to improve the management of workers in the construction industry.

Introducing Multidisciplinary Micro-credentialing establishes a HE-industry framework to augment a re-skilling and upskilling process where courses could generate adaptable multidisciplinary links and intersections toward self-sufficiency.

The central aim of this book is to investigate and develop frameworks to aid effective maintenance management of municipal buildings in the education sector of developing economies. Using the South African education sector as a case study, this book provides readers with two major practical insights. Firstly, it focuses on the theoretical underpinnings of maintenance management research and introduces a maintenance management model through the development of a conceptual framework. This framework aids in explaining the factors underpinning the maintenance of municipal buildings but can also be used in the assessment and management of other public buildings. Secondly, the book highlights and addresses theoretical gaps in existing studies essential for the maintenance management of buildings in developing economies, providing a stimulus for future research. The book will be of interest to researchers in construction management, building technology, estate management, civil engineering, architecture, and urban and regional planning. It is an essential manual for policymakers in the education sector, built environment, construction industry, facility maintenance, facility management and consultants at government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) charged with maintenance management of public infrastructures and assets.

This book provides readers with an understanding of various concepts, benefits, and practices that the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technolo>gies can bring when working towards sustainable construction goals. As digitalization continues to advance rapidly, the pressures on stakeholders in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry to revamp and restructure their activities and outputs become increasingly prev>alent. This research book explains the importance of various digital tools and principles to achieve sustainable construction projects. It adopts various stand>ards and concepts to highlight how 4IR technologies could assist and accelerate construction sustainability. It is the first book to link construction management with various digital tools to enhance construction projects’ sustainability. It also provides an in-depth insight into the concept of sustainable construction 4.0 across both developing and developed countries for construction professionals, sustainability experts, researchers, educators, and other stakeholders.The book can be adopted as a research guide, framework, and reference on sustainable construction, the concept of sustainable projects, digitalization in the construction industry, and the 4IR.