There’s an old saying: a little knowledge is a bad thing. This was proven to be fact in research by professors Dunning and Kruger in 1999. People who gain some knowledge greatly overestimate their own abilities. We all suffer from this bias to some degree. The trick is knowing it.

I used to say about my Mum, “she was never in doubt but not always right”. She was a very intelligent person, so it meant that she was often right. But a bit like AI, she was completely confident even if she was wrong. I’ll concede that I probably inherited this trait from her. At least as I have become older, I am aware of it. The more that I learn, the more I realise how little I know.

The core problem is this, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. You must go out of your way to look for it.

Recent research into the construction sector highlights the skill gaps in trades:

Source: Concove* ConstrucTrend Report Nov 2025

This survey talked to qualified carpenters, electricians, and plumbers and the people that employed them. The findings show why many struggle to make the transition from being “on the tools” to successful businesses.

I’m not just picking on tradespeople. Technically-oriented sectors focus their training and certification requirements on discipline-specific skills — Quantity Surveying being no different. As workers in these technical roles, we must ensure that we develop our skills to match the total requirements of our roles.

If the Dunning Kruger effect kicks in, we increase the risk of getting it wrong, and we miss the opportunity to improve. The key is to be self-aware enough to know when and where we need support.

The options for solving this are:

• Investing the time to develop the skills
• Hiring in the skills, or
• Outsourcing to skilled providers

*ConCOVE – The Centre of Vocational Excellence for Construction & Infrastructure based at the Manukau Institute of Technology.