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Construction & Health And Safety Careers

Construction continues to be one of the largest business sectors in the world today. The industry encompasses disciplines such as design, architecture, engineering, management and building skills. With so much choice within the industry, the right qualifications are now very important.

Choices for careers within Construction fundamentally span 3 skill levels. First there are unskilled and semi skilled workers who have very little certification and represent the bulk of the on-site workforce. Following this are the skilled workers, who've trained and built up their abilities. Many take on lower management positions. At the top of the scale we have the careers relating to more senior management and technical staff. Usually the most technically qualified to work in this industry, these are generally the people who manage, plan and design the entire process.

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

Within the UK, the skilled occupations require Further Education qualifications - often in a vocational subject. These qualifications are either obtained directly through colleges, or through 'on the job' training.

In the United Kingdom during 2007, there were over 8,000 training positions started in construction alone. As of last year, there were over 600,000 people employed throughout the construction industry with 18,000 students being trained.

There are three different sectors in the construction industry as a whole. 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. This is the process by which structural improvements are made to established buildings. The vast majority are small-scale projects such as renovations. Civil and Heavy Construction is the second type of construction between Building and Industrial. Then there's Industrial Construction, which is a specialised but smaller division of the industry. Often the people behind these industrial construction projects are huge profit based companies.

A greater range of skills and professions are needed to complete the civil and industrial construction projects. Financiers looking to fund the biggest industrial concerns sometimes have to raise tens of millions or more in investment money before they can get started. So let's now go through a number of technical construction career paths:

Civil Engineer

Civil engineers generally hold particular three or four year engineering degrees. In addition the Chartered Engineer certification can be obtained through the Institution of Civil Engineers. To achieve chartered status engineering graduates need to hold the four year MEng. Graduates can become Incorporated Engineers through Bachelor Degree status.

Building Engineer

This is another way of saying Mechanical or Electrical Engineers. These candidates usually hold degrees in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering. Graduating M and E Engineers can join the CIBSE at Graduate level to increase their contacts and networks of professionals.

Project Management

PM's are normally also certified in other disciplines first, such as Quantity Surveying. There are a number of Project Management training courses offered by various institutions.

Quantity Surveyors

Training for work as a Quantity Surveyor starts with an appropriate three or four year degree course. 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".

Structural Engineering

Undergraduates looking to apply to university to take a structural engineering degree should have A levels in maths, physics and/or other sciences. 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.

Architects

The standard entry route into the architectural profession takes at least seven years, and is a blend of academic and practical study and work. To use the title of Architect, the individual must hold Chartered Status with the Royal Institute of British Architects, and be on the Architects Registration Board.