Les compétences essentielles requises des gestionnaires de projets de construction au Québec

Abstract

The realization of construction projects is complex, in particular because they involve many interrelated and interdependent players. A number of authors thus agree that the successful management of a construction project depends above all on the project manager’s skill and efficiency in managing human resources. More specifically, they suggest that there is a direct link between the success of a project and the project manager’s emotional intelligence. These same authors go so far as to suggest that the choice of manager is a criterion for project success. In the Quebec construction industry, however, project managers are selected almost exclusively on the basis of technical knowledge and experience, with little regard for the candidates’ behavioural characteristics, that is, their emotional competencies and psychological profile. This study seeks to identify the essential skills required of construction project managers working in the Quebec construction industry. Its primary objective is to identify the knowledge, skills, and personal qualities expected of project managers by the principal stakeholders in construction projects, namely public sector clients, architects, engineers, and contractors. A secondary objective is to propose, on the basis of existing tools, a framework for selecting construction project managers who match the profile expected by industry stakeholders. The research methodology used was descriptive, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods in a combination of data collection and analysis tools and strategies. This study is based primarily on a field survey within the construction industry of 100 employers and 50 project managers employed by them. The findings were used to identify 13 skills and 11 personal characteristics considered essential for project managers. Of these, two relate to conceptual skill, two to political skill, eight to human skill, of which four are associated with emotional intelligence and four with interpersonal skill, and one to technical skill. This study also shows that human skills, although weak among the project managers in our sample group, are considered essential by employers. It also confirms the importance of human competencies over technical ones in project management. Lastly, it reveals that current project managers do not necessarily have the skills required to manage projects in such a way as to ensure their success.

Date	31 Jan 2018
Original language	French
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Gabriel Lefebvre (Supervisor)