INFLUENCE OF ORGANISATION TYPE ON FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT AMONG ARCHITECTURAL INTERNS IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

Internship in architectural education serves as a window for exposure to the world of professional practice. However, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge on how placement across diverse organisations with varying tasks shapes architectural competency exposure, particularly in a largely unstructured placement system like Nigeria’s. The study examined the influence of organisation type on functional competency development among architectural interns in Southwest Nigeria. A survey of 263 final-year students (2025 cohort) from nine accredited institutions was conducted using structured questionnaires. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that competency development is unevenly distributed and closely aligned with operational focus, with moderate exposure range observed across all five organisation types. Construction companies demonstrate the highest overall competency exposure (REI = 0.598), particularly in construction technology and management domains. Architectural firms provide relatively high exposure in design-related competencies, while government agencies show comparatively stronger contributions to practice management knowledge. In contrast, real estate and interior design firms exhibit narrower competency profiles with lower overall exposure. ANOVA results confirm that differences in competency exposure across organisation types are statistically significant (p = 0.002). Post-hoc comparisons show that interns in construction companies have significantly higher functional competency exposure than those in real estate, interior design firms, and government agencies, while no statistically significant difference was observed compared to architectural firms. Structured competency-based internship frameworks and improved collaboration between academic institutions and industry are recommended to ensure balanced and comprehensive competency acquisition among architectural interns.