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2021 Executive Insights: Education & Training

Industry experts share their insights on the state of construction training amidst a global pandemic as well as what the future holds for virtual learning.
March 15, 2021
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Workforce

The pandemic has pushed many schools to go remote. What are the challenges and benefits for the student?

Dr. Tim Brockman
Professor of Technology, Art and Design
Bemidji State University

Tradespeople are traditionally visual or hands-on learners, learning by seeing and doing. The trades are taught through observation, participation and constructive criticism. As tradespeople move into leadership positions, they share these skills with their crews in the same manner. They work to improve efficiency through this time-honored teaching method.

At the same time, the construction industry is evolving rapidly. Blueprints have evolved into BIM and projects are now managed through vast, integrated software systems. The evolution of online Construction Management education is simply a reflection of changes in the industry. Today, construction managers need to be as comfortable with a keyboard as they are with a tape measure.

Online construction management education transitions well into project management software. Entry-level management positions use software to generate progress reports, redirect resources for critical tasks, or process a submittal, while keeping stakeholders updated on the project’s progress. Those students embracing an online education easily embrace the evolving digital construction world.

Is online education different? Absolutely. Yet, many fail to realize online delivery systems can provide the observation, participation and constructive criticism similar to a traditional, hands-on education.

Rather, it comes through interactive videos, engaging projects and instructor feedback. Tradespeople are used to this, and it builds the individual’s success. It is education that is evolving to meet today’s industry digital standards. Students already embrace a digital environment. Online education is engaging them in a digital format that better prepares students for the digital environment of today’s construction industry.

As an educator, how are you preparing students for a variety of construction leadership skills that are flexible, no matter how markets will fluctuate among jobs in residential and non-residential construction?

Bradford Sims
President
Capitol Technology University

As a construction educator who went to a university for the specific purpose of getting a job and then worked around the United States in industrial construction upon graduation, my focus is to provide my students with future construction skills that will provide them a great career and financially take care of themselves and their families for life. The important part of providing this experience is that it is accessible to traditional age students, adult learners, military transitioning personnel, trade skilled workers, and career changers. To support future construction industry needs and provide career options for student, I worked with several construction organizations and construction companies to create new construction degrees all with a core of project management skills. These accessible online in demand degrees include construction management & critical infrastructure, construction safety, construction IT & cybersecurity, and facilities management. To help those students with craft trade apprenticeships who wish to complete a degree, I have formed agreements with organizations such as NCCER to accept their certifications as university transfer credit. For those students in a trade or working for a construction company, I have created an online degree that provides the business skills so that one can start their own company understanding what is needed to be financially successful. The construction industry is largest employer in the United States when you take away the government/military and it will continue to need workers in all segments to continue to build the United States and drive the economy.

Digital transformation is a priority for the construction industry and the pandemic has underlined this need. How can a construction firm ensure that their workers are getting the necessary training to remain relevant and efficient in the industry?

Mohamed Diab
Construction Management Department Chairperson
Minnesota State University-Mankato

Throughout the last year, the pandemic has made digital transformation a priority in the construction industry. This current climate poses daily challenges in any construction project, making tasks even more daunting. Efficiency is essential for contractors, and new modes of work are not only desired, they are also an absolute need to survive this new business reality. Part of that efficiency is the need to improve true collaboration in an effort to achieve high productivity.

One significant trend is that project owners increasingly expect contractors to do more with less, without sacrificing quality. This change, along with growing pressure on already thin margins, means contractors are looking for ways to improve productivity and outcomes across all areas of construction project delivery.

Continuous training for employees in the field has become a must for any successful construction company to survive competition. Construction firms need to include their employees' performance measures, training them on the current and future technology tools to be more relevant and improve efficiency and productivity.

Lastly, companies must invest in providing their employees and workers incentives for career advancement and promotion opportunities following completion of their digital transformation training.

Do you think remote learning will continue to be embraced after the pandemic?

Gulbin Ozcan-Deniz
Program Director and Associate Professor
Thomas Jefferson University

Even before the pandemic, we were seeing an increasing interest towards online construction master’s programs and certificates from practitioners. Being both remote and efficient has been the key ingredient of online education, which has enabled adult learners to improve skills and pursue continuous education on a whenever-wherever basis.

Being remote is no longer limited to education. We see a trend in virtual skills being an essential part of the daily construction job. Although construction is a majorly in-person industry, with workers on the jobsite, it has well been understood that remote technologies are needed. Cloud and web-based apps have been a part of the vital tools used at the site and, in the pandemic, apps and remote meetings have been used more than ever to increase efficiency. People have seen how convenient it is to get these virtual skills via online courses, while skipping a trip to an on-campus location. Then, the question is, why wouldn’t you complete a degree—even from your living room—while keeping up with your work schedule?

As construction companies are adjusting to the new way of working that embraces technology and virtual meetings, online learning will keep improving construction practitioners’ skills to enable them to acquire degrees and certificates (even in remote locations), while keeping people connected to their jobs at the same time. Beyond flexibility, the need for remote learning is apparent, as the industry will continue to see an upward trend in the use of virtual technologies and meetings.

Anoop Sattineni
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Officer
Auburn University

The past couple of decades have seen seismic shifts in construction industry processes. These changes were largely driven by technological advancements in almost every facet of the industry. Advances in technology today allow designers and contractors to communicate and collaborate digitally to facilitate a seamless transition between design, construction and facility maintenance. These advancements have also changed attitudes of professionals in how they communicate with each other, resulting in mutual empathy for their roles. It has become imperative that organizations are able to create lifelong learning opportunities for employees as these have illustrated a direct impact on the bottom-line. A renewed focus on construction safety, efforts to improve productivity and deliver a sustainable project are all driving changes to the business of construction. Labor shortage and material optimization hurdles are catalysts for increasing popularity of modular and prefabricated elements to projects.

The pandemic has sped up certain trends in all aspects of life. Education has been particularly impacted at all levels in society. The availability of targeted education for specific segments of population will now be ubiquitous and available to all businesses. Employers will provide opportunities and require their employees to participate in specialized education to continuously adapt with technological and other changes in industry. The construction industry will also participate in this trend. As has always been the case, young professionals will specifically be tasked with incorporating changes to the organization. It is thus an exciting time to participate in an industry essential to the human endeavor.

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