The argument in the recent time was that the past strategies of the government in housing provision were obviously in favour of high income groups as the low-medium groups are victims of housing inadequacy in cities. The corollary to the situation resulted to the call for the adoption of public private partnership (PPP) initiative in order to accomplish the broad goal of housing-for-all in Nigeria. Most recent studies have established that there is no substantial contribution reported from the initiative, as the housing outputs are only affordable at present by high income groups, thus there is a need for a policy framework to ensure an effective PPP in urban housing provision. The aim of this paper is to suggest a policy framework for the way forward- the approach that is based on both theoretical and conceptual model, as related to Nigeria housing provision structure. This study utilises existing empirical studies, reports and theoretical concepts. It also utilises the responses from housing professionals on modalities of enhancing urban housing provision through PPP model in Nigeria. It was confirmed that the PPP model for housing provision in Nigeria is an emerging concept that lacks a specific policy and has little contribution in urban housing provision. Hence, the paper opines that the context for ensuring an effective collaboration that will make a PPP model is by incorporating all the institutions (poles), interests (motivating factors), norms, values (cultural practices), property rights and transaction costs. It is concluded that all the income groups should be considered as parts of the stakeholders in the formulation of a better PPP policy framework that addresses the housing needs of the majority of the dwellers in cities. This conceptual idea is referred to as New Institutional Economics (NIE) Approach.@en

Purpose – Real estate professionals are vital resources to the property firms and the industry atlarge. Employees’ skills, knowledge and competence contribute in great measure to organisation’s business performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the adequacy ofcore knowledge and soft skills possessed by professional employees within the Nigerian real estate practicing firms. It also assesses the performance of the employees and establishes the correlation among the soft skills possessed by employees. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were elicited through the administration of questionnaires on Principal Partners/Branch Managers (the employers) of the practicing Estate Surveying and Valuation firms in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one sample t-test, and correlation analysis. Findings – The result indicates that employees of estate firms in Nigeria demonstrate adequate knowledge in ten, out of twenty one core areas of real estate practice while real estate agency has the highest mean; and inadequate knowledge in eleven others with least mean score in environmental impact assessment. The study also revealed that the employees possess good listening and communication skills but deficient in courteousness and writing skill, among others. It was also found that real estate employees were performing the best in inspection functions but below average in report writing and handling of transaction. The study also established a significant relationship among all the soft skills except communication skill and courteousness. Research limitations/implications – Further study that looks at the performance of real estate graduates working in other sectors/organizations other than estate companies is required to establish their competence level in global employment market. Further study is also needed to cover the views of the employees in Nigerian market as this study focuses on the views of the employers. Originality/value – This study provides an important feedback for the policy makers in the design/review of curriculum for real estate education towards enhancing employability of the graduates. This study also serves as the research blueprint in giving attention to assessment of soft skills among real estate employees in Nigerian real estate industry. Keywords Knowledge, Soft skills, Employee, Real estate firms, Nigeria@en