Competences for Real Estate Graduates in Brazil: results from a stakeholder survey

This exploratory research offers a stakeholder’s perspective about the professional profile of real estate graduates, in line with concerns regarding skilled labour posed to the Real Estate sector in Brazil. Specifically, it recognizes a set of core competencies (composed of knowledge, skills, and attitudes) required by real estate development companies to qualify professionals who work with design and planning of real estate products. The opinions about professional competences were obtained through an online survey, conducted with real estate executives, academics and recruitment professionals of leading Brazilian real estate development companies. The questionnaire was based on existing literature depicting similar surveys, and insights gained from semi-structured interviews previously conducted with five key industry employers. One thousand questionnaires were sent and 261 were considered as valid responses out of the 341 returned questionnaires. Respondents rated a group of 30 competences according to their perception of relevance, using a five-point Likert scale. After the survey, results were compiled, ranked and classified by type of respondent and expertise of the company. The five competences that got higher scores were: Awareness of professional ethical responsibility, perception of what happens in the market, critical thinking - ability to assimilate complex situations, capacity to identify problems and find solutions, and knowledge of legal and regulatory aspects of the market. Based on the survey results, a discussion about professional ethics and the pertinence of a multidisciplinary approach in real estate education is offered.