The Nigerian Artisan: Changing Employment Relationships And Industrial Structures In The Construction Industry

Abstract

The Nigerian construction industry continues to depend on artisans whose practical skills determine the quality, durability, and cost-efficiency of construction projects. However, the employment arrangements governing this workforce have changed markedly over the past four decades. Permanent, employer-based engagement has been progressively displaced by subcontracting, casual labour, labour outsourcing, self-employment, and project-based work. These developments are generally attributed to economic liberalisation, technological innovation, urbanisation, and globalisation. This paper aims to synthesize existing literature on Nigerian construction artisans through the lens of Atkinson's (1984) Flexible Firm Model to explain how workforce segmentation reshapes artisan employment and productivity. Applying this core-periphery framework to the Nigerian evidence suggests that the artisan workforce is increasingly organised into a small, functionally flexible core and an expanding, numerically and financially flexible periphery. This structural shift carries critical consequences for skills investment, job security, and productivity that existing Nigerian literature describes without theorising explicitly. Strengthening technical education, extending labour protection to peripheral workers, and supporting digital and entrepreneurial skills development are necessary measures to prevent industrial flexibility from eroding workforce capability.