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Analysis of Qualifications for Entry-Level Positions in Construction Management

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Construction Engineering Division (CONST) Technical Session 5

Tagged Division

Construction Engineering Division (CONST)

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42656

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42656

Download Count

311

Paper Authors

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Omkar Gadakh

biography

Luciana Debs Purdue University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-9713-0957

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Luciana Debs, is an Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the School Construction Management Technology at Purdue University. She received her PhD from Purdue University Main Campus, her MS from the Technical Research Institute of Sao Paulo. Her current research includes the technology and teaching within design and construction and the impact of Construction and Education 4.0 in undergraduate curriculum.

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Abstract

Construction management graduates must possess a mixture of technical, soft, and technological skills in order to fulfill their job responsibilities as a project engineer, estimator, field engineer, etc. at the start of their career. There is a lack of information on the exact skills that are required of a recent graduate to occupy these entry-level positions in the construction industry. This study analyzed job listings in order to understand most common qualifications expected of graduates and their most common responsibilities in construction. The researchers qualitatively analyzed a group of 40 companies that rendered 64 listings for data collection. It was found that qualifications in job listings referenced mostly soft skills, whereas responsibilities referenced technical skills the most. The listings were analyzed to find representation of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) as well. It was observed that job responsibilities represented more SLOs than the qualification sections. The findings from this study could be used by institutions to bring their construction management programs up to current industry expectations. Recent and upcoming graduates can use these findings to understand the skills they need to possess to work in their desired positions in construction.

Gadakh, O., & Debs, L. (2023, June), Analysis of Qualifications for Entry-Level Positions in Construction Management Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42656

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