Prospects In The Construction Management Industry

There's no doubt that construction is one of the most embracing of today's business sectors. The industry encompasses disciplines such as design, architecture, engineering, management and building skills. There are many routes to a variety of careers within the Construction Industry.

Essentially there are three layers of profession within the industry. The least certified members of the workforce will be employed on building sites and are generally known as Unskilled and/or Semi Skilled. 'Skilled labour' often relates to the On-Site managers or Foremen who have extensive knowledge and experience of their profession.

At the top of the scale we have the careers relating to more senior management and technical staff. Due to the fact that these people hold the highest qualifications in this sector they are the ones who manage, plan, design and train the construction methods.

Bookmarking this page (a keyboard shortcut is Ctrl D) would help if you wanted to check out the links and adverts to a few training companies in this area.

Training in Construction in the UK

Skilled professionals in the UK often need formal accreditations - especially in those areas of vocational expertise. Students can go through a college or by on-the-job training to get their required qualifications.

Within the UK over eight thousand apprenticeships in construction started in two thousand and seven alone. In addition to the 613,000 or so people within the construction trades in the UK during 2009 another 18,000 students were assigned to training programmes.

Overall work ranges from building construction, through heavy or civil construction to industrial construction. They all take a range of skills to complete each assignment, though some overlap with each other.

The first sector to look at is Building Construction. Essentially this is where extensions are built onto existing houses. A large number of these projects are comparatively small and are completed in under a month. Larger scale projects are mostly the domain of civil construction, which comes mid-way between building and industrial. Industrial Construction is a relatively small part of the entire construction industry, but it is a key part of it. The owners of these large-scale projects are usually vast for-profit, industrial corporations.

As you go through the list from Building Construction to Industrial Construction, the size of the job increases massively. Without a doubt the costs of ventures increase from a few hundred pounds for small projects through to many millions of pounds for large industrial schemes. Let's now get an overview of some of the professionals who work in the industry:

Civil Engineering

Civil Engineers typically need to be qualified with good civil engineering degrees. Equally important is the Chartered Engineer qualification earned through the Institute of Civil Engineers. New university graduates are usually expected to hold a Master's Degree to become Chartered. To reach Incorporated Engineer level you should have attained a Bachelor's Degree (BEng) first.

Building Services Engineer

Another engineering discipline needed in construction is Building Services Engineering. A Mechanical or Electrical Engineering degree is normally held by most applicants to this post. The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers welcomes members, and offers memberships from Affiliate through to Fellow depending on status.

Structural Engineering

Professional structural engineers make a significant contribution to the design of a built environment. Structures have to look pleasing, but structural engineers also have to calculate loads and stresses, and be confident the foundations and frameworks are sufficiently strong to be safe and effective.

Project Management

Individuals typically hold a 2 year or greater higher education qualification, but are also qualified in another field such as 'Quantity Surveying' or 'Civil Engineering'.

Quantity Surveying

To qualify for construction work in quantity surveying, candidates must initially graduate at degree level or above. Further training and accreditations can be accessed from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, "the pre-eminent organisation for professionals working in the land, property and construction sectors in the UK and around the world".

Architects

Becoming an architect generally requires a minimum 4 year Degree in Architecture with practical work experience and further training as well. On any construction project, an architect will remain a key player as their designs, ideas and plans are converted into physical structures and spaces.