Abstract: In New Zealand, all sixteen polytechnics are undergoing a merging process into one institute – Te Pukenga (New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology) and currently, different polytechnics have their own curriculums of quantity surveying/cost engineering, thus there is an urgent need to standardize. The building construction industry evolved significantly in New Zealand in the past few years, especially to address new technologies, e.g., building information modeling (BIM), drone technology; and there are more international construction contractors participating in the domestic New Zealand market. To ensure that quantity surveying education is keeping pace with the market demand, the purpose of this study is to identify the gap between the competencies of graduate quantity surveyors and the expected competencies that the New Zealand construction industry is looking for. Eventually, the study provides information about the industry's current trend leading to review of quantity surveying education and updating of the corresponding curriculum.

• Design/methodology approach - A hybrid approach including desk review and a questionnaire survey will be adopted. A comparative analysis identifying differences between two competency levels will be prepared.
• Practical implication: The findings reveal the need for designing a quantity surveying program that caters for industry needs to ensure graduates are capable to carry out the cost engineering tasks that industry expects.