Project managers in today's construction industry are faced with a situation whereby the fundamental roles and functions they
perform are witnessing a gradual shift in focus. To maintain their professional competency, practising project managers in
construction adapt to this changing industry environment by relying on knowledge and skills acquired through training and
experience. The extent to which such training enables project managers to eectively adapt to changing demands have
considerable relevance not only for the training of future project managers, but more importantly, the kind of management and
general manpower development policies that construction organisations can adopt. The paper presents a study that focuses on
the development of construction project managers and how they maintain their professional skills in a changing construction
business environment. The paper ®rst sets out the areas of knowledge and skill required for project management certi®cation,
and argues that the traditional engineering orientation of these requirements are insucient for today's construction project
manager. It identi®es the general knowledge and skill elements that are perceived as essential for developing project management
competency through a survey of project managers in the construction industry. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd and IPMA. All
rights reserved.