The study investigates the essential skill requirements for construction managers in Nigeria. The objective is to determine the most important skill requirements for construction managers. A structured questionnaire was administered to construction professionals who worked recently with construction managers in their recently completed projects. Snowballing sampling technique was used to select seventy (70) respondents, however only forty (40) responses were used for the data analysis. The results indicate that essential skills required by the construction managers for their jobs include: procedural-industrial skills, quality assurance/management, listening skills, knowledge of codes and regulations, sustainable skills and ability to learn skills. These skills are important for the construction manager to practice effectively in Nigeria and other developing countries. These findings have seven practical implications to professional bodies, Universities and other trainers of construction managers, whose present curricula may be deficient in knowledge areas in industry (business, managerial, personal and technical). These institutions may need to re-orientate and improve the curricula for newly trained construction managers to cope with current skill requirements. On the other hand, recruiting agencies should ensure that job applicants with the right hard and soft skills are engaged as construction managers. Consequently efficient and effective management of future construction projects in Nigeria and other developing countries can be ensured.