Measuring the ability gap for construction professionals

The importance of the ability of individuals as an organizational variable is demonstrated, both in the context of task accomplishment and in relation to motivational issues. Fieldwork to measure the abilities of construction-related professionals is described, together with multiple regression analyses which resulted in 40 equations for the prediction from factual independent variables of the abilities of individuals to do various worktypes. The new concept of the 'ability gap' is then introduced to clarify the organizational implications of differing ability levels.