Research on Personal Skills That Architects Should Focus on Improving in Professional Career Development

Weiqiang Zhou, Fangting Liang (), Haoxu Guo and Bin Li
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Weiqiang Zhou: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China
Fangting Liang: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519041, China
Haoxu Guo: School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Bin Li: School of Creative Arts and Design, City University of Macau, Macau 999074, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: With the current downturn in the real estate and construction industries, the construction job market is saturated, and architects are facing an urgent employment crisis. Architectural education should understand the skill requirements of individuals in the labor market and make adjustments accordingly. This study examines the evaluation of and demand for skills from the perspective of employers. A research questionnaire was constructed based on the Kano theoretical model and distributed to 810 practitioners, and the results were analyzed. The results of the data analysis of demand attributes, importance, and group differences showed that the construction industry pays the most attention to strengthening professional soft abilities, while improving personal comprehensive abilities and maintaining professional hard abilities can support architects in maintaining strong competitiveness in the job market. Furthermore, different groups and regions have different needs for architectural skills. The cultivation of skills in colleges and universities must be targeted. This study provides an adjusted direction for architectural education and training and also provides guidance for architectural practitioners in improving their skills and expanding their career development with the trend of industry saturation.

Keywords: construction market demand; architect; skill requirement; Kano model; architecture education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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