Publications / CSCE/CRC 2025 - Montreal, Canada
Given the dynamic nature of construction, evolving standards, principles, and methodologies introduce new considerations in the delivery of construction projects. A project manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring overall project success by effectively overseeing project execution in light of these potentially conflicting factors. As such, there is increasing interest in identifying and exploring project manager competencies that existing literature does not address specifically in the Canadian construction sector. The purpose of this paper is (1) to identify and analyze competencies desired for construction project managers, and (2) to understand the correlation between competencies, in addition to how contracting parties (owner, consultant, and contractor) and industries (building, infrastructure, and industrial) influence these competencies. A literature review was completed to develop a competency framework. 220 Albertan job advertisements were reviewed and competencies were recorded. The frequency and phi coefficient of each competency was calculated for all postings, then for postings specific to each contracting party and type of industry. The Fisher-Freeman Halton test was employed to determine dependency of competency frequency on contracting party and industry. Technical, communication, and select managerial and financial competencies were highly cited. Owner and consultant postings favoured technical and communication competencies while contractor postings included communication and select managerial competencies. There is less variation in competency citation frequency between industries and positive relationships were observed between oral and written communication competencies. Desired competencies are influenced by the services to be provided, the industry in which work will take place, and other competencies included in the postings.