The topic of education is always a very touchy one in the construction business because construction is one of those rare industries that can be equally lucrative for a high school educated carpenter and a Harvard MBA. There are construction companies that have been started by tradespeople who are just as successful (and perhaps more) as those who took the conventional path of going to college, then grad school and then climbing the greasy pole of typical corporations.
The debate about what level of education is required or beneficial to work at a high level in construction companies rages and could be the single biggest point of contention among employees that I have encountered in my still very young career. Those out of the "school of hard knocks" argue that a seasoned veteran can build circles around some hot shot with a master's degree who doesn't "really" know how to get thing done, while the more formally educated group claims that their background gives them the broad knowledge required to perform in the construction world where you're working with architects, engineers, tradespeople, developers, and bankers.
I'm of course biased, having been formally educated with a master's degree in civil engineering, I will tend to agree with the folks who think a formal education may be a bit more advantageous. This is not to infer however that those with experience over education should be kicked to curb and treated like they have the swine flu, but I do think that they should be encouraged to complete their degrees and the majority of this should be paid for by the organization. There is no worse situation than to be hired above a school of hard knocker who may have more practical experience than you and thinks they should have your job. Trust me, it's like a living hell.
This issue has been the equivalent of the pink elephant in the room for many construction organizations because it's really a tough one to deal with. Most organizations are requiring at least a bachelors degree and often a master's degree to move up in the company but have a very difficult time explaining why this requirement is in place. And frankly it is tough to explain. I've thought a lot about it, and I don't really know how I would approach this issue if I were to have to explain to an employee that they didn't get a particular promotion or raise because of their lack of formal education. Instead, I think I'd immediately book the next flight to Mexico regardless of any current pandemic in the area.
It looks like a more formally educated construction world is the direction in which companies want to move, but they need to figure out a way of explaining why this is true. And then, they need to offer employees the opportunity to pursue higher education with at least a partial reimbursement from the company. This will require companies to look beyond short term profits and think more long term about where they would like their company to go, but of course, I'm biased.
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I find your article enlighting, I have worked through the school of hard knocks, have a 2 year degree and find that most general contractors except for the national ones are not willing or they do not have the resources for it.
ReplyDeleteThe other issue I find is that most of the colleges do not offer 4 year degrees in the San Francisco area which has a demand but no one willing to support the man who would like to advance.
Most of the colleges here are during the day and that they do not have any kind of online education to learn from. This would be a great if they would.
There has to be some kind of acceptance to support people who would like to learn more.