Ten skills that can turn you into a real asset for the real estate sector

TimesJobs.com Bureau

Real estate and infrastructure industry is an asset driven sector. Therefore, the skills required in the industry have to be niche, as well as asset oriented. Expert knowledge of software like Primavera enterprise, project portfolio management software, is much in demand in this sector. Rashmi Mansharamani, corporate head (Human Resources), Wave Infratech, stated during a TimesJobs.com boardroom dialogue, “We need a lot of Primavera experts and it is very difficult to find them in this part of the country. So, we normally source a lot of people from Dubai, which gets really expensive and we are not sure if they would stick on. Therefore, we have contacted various colleges where they have these professional courses like Primavera and we are running a course for them.”

Apart from the curriculum taught in institutions, candidates must have proper understanding of the projects they handled during their internship period. Completing these projects just for the sake of getting a degree would not do them any good. Frequent field visits to familiarize oneself with the functioning of a construction site as well as the basic working of the modern construction equipments commonly used on-site, is absolutely essential. General HS Bagga, Corporate and HR Head, ATS Greens, pointed out during the boardroom discussion that candidates should have knowledge of the projects handled. This knowledge is lacking. Candidates also lack exposure to modern equipments used on-site, he added.

According to Deepak Bharara, director-corporate HR, Lanco Infratech Limited, the following are the ten basic skill-sets required in a candidate to excel in real estate and infrastructure industry:

1. Ability to understand the tendering process and techno-commercial analysis

2. Ability to maintain a strong network

3. Understanding of the basic costing of the projects

4. Co-ordination with all the various departments to make sure the tenders are accurate

5. Basic understanding of construction techniques

6. Ability to understand the resource estimation

7. Understanding of legal and contractual aspects while dealing with the people

8. Estimating the man-power or man-hour needed for the project, number of laborers required.

9. Ability to prepare technical proposals to suitably govern the requirements integrated in the bid documents

10. Technical specification of the bid and convert them into material requirements