Issues and challenges faced by building surveyors in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose – A Building Surveyor (BS) is a professional who carries out building control functions and performance‐related assessments which require an organised approach. The profession is involved in preparing for physical development, supervision of construction quality and assessment of the physical condition of a building. However, the awareness of the importance of BSs in Malaysia is still very low. The capabilities of BS graduates have long been debated by other professionals in the Malaysian construction industry and there are some issues that need to be clarified prior to the granting of government approval to the profession. The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on the issues and challenges faced by graduate building surveyors in Malaysia. In addition, the paper focuses on the employment trend of BS graduates.Design/methodology/approach – Following a literature review, a triangulation approach was used in this study which involved a questionnaire survey (sample size 64) and interviews with se...