Analysis of Quantity surveyor’s employment in the public service sectors in Uganda
Abstract
The construction industry has a direct link to the country’s economy and development. It is the
Quantity Surveyor’s role to ensure that the resources in the construction industry are utilized by
providing financial management for the projects and cost consultancy to the client during the
construction process. The quantity Surveying profession is important during the construction of
any project. Any construction project has to be completed with the constraints of time, cost, and
quality. The quantity surveyor performs the role of utilizing the monetary fund very efficiently and
effectively to obtain the optimum value for money without involving the risk of losing control of
money. Therefore, quantity surveyors work as cost planners, cost controllers, and cost managers.
Their role and practices are expanding day by day and the industry demands quantity surveyors
that have experience, distinctive competencies, and skills. The current number of registered
quantity surveyors in Uganda is sixty-nine (69). The purpose of this research is to analyze quantity
surveyors’ employment in the public service sectors in Uganda. Currently, a precarious shortage
of quantity surveying professionals can be evidenced in Uganda’s construction industry. The result
of the shortage is tremendously high in public sector projects due to the extreme governmental
influence. The research aims at contributing to a better understanding of the employment dynamics
and challenges faced by quantity surveyors in Uganda’s public service sectors. According to the
research findings, the number of QSs in the public sector is low and there is less opportunity to
develop their career because of insufficient work under their scope. According to the perspective
of other professionals in the public sector, although they have realized the problem they have to
implement the plans and strategies according to the government rules and regulations. As the final
outcome of the research, a framework needs to be developed to recruit and retain more QSs in
public-sector construction organizations.