The research examined the utilization levels of the capacities of the construction
craftsmen in the public sector of the Nigerian economy sequel to speculations that
construction craftsmen in the public sector have low level work output. The issue of work
output borders on labour capacity utilization. Craftsmen in the public sector were identified
in the study and the extent to which their services were utilized by the employing
departments was verified over a ten-year period. The research was focused at generating
information that can be used to improve on usage of labour resource in the construction
industry. The objectives include generating distribution of craftsmen by skill, determining
the relationship between annual labour output and input of each department and making
appropriate recommendations. Literatures on construction labour economy were reviewed.
The methodology entails a pilot study comparing the wages operating in the public with the
private sector, data collected were sourced by questionnaire and historical records. Samples
were collected from State and Federal Ministries of Works in Kwara, Niger and Plateau
States. Data on number of craftsmen per salary grade level per department were collected
from registry department of each ministry for a ten-year period. Different sets of structured
questionnaire were served on the craftsmen and their supervisors. The statistical techniques
used to analyse the data include percentages, averages, linear regression, correlation
analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVA). All the four departments of the Ministry were
covered by the research. Results revealed that craftsmen were unequally represented by
gender with 92.5% male; 81.5% were between 30 and 50 years old; their salary clustered in
levels 05 to 07; they remain with single employer though they prefer change of
employment for better utilization of their skills; they were idle most days of the year for
lack of job orders; one reason for insufficient work was that most State
Governors/Ministers of Works gave out work on contracts by unorthodox means; The study
shows that there was no significant relationship between the work output of the craftsmen
in the public service of the zone and the corresponding wages earned. In 87% cases, the
employer had negative return of his investments on the craftsmen. Productivity was higher
generally in the federal ministry than in the state. The perception of the departmental heads
on the level of achievement of the annual production plans of the departments was in line
with the calculated productivity ratings. Productivity ratings for the craftsmen category
were created as an attempt to assist the government in the human resource planning
requirement of this group. It was envisaged that the study will assist the Nigerian
government in the human resources planning for the construction industry to cater for the
needs of the various government establishments in direct labour project executions.