FIATECH Launches Project Aimed at Teaching Core Technology Competencies

28 May, 2008

Organization will identify programs at postsecondary education institutions and determine how to use them to help expand a technology-enabled workforce.

FIATECH announced yesterday that the organization has initiated a new project to identify unique postsecondary educational institutions' programs and catalog instructional techniques used to teach design and construction technology. The project will be led by Allan Chasey from Arizona State University and will include industry input. By identifying innovative and successful industry and academic programs that currently exist in academic institutions, FIATECH believes these programs can be used to assist and expand the technology enabling efforts throughout the construction and engineering industry. This project was identified in the Element 8 (Technology and Knowledge-Enabled Workforce) section of FIATECH's Capital Projects Technology Roadmap, which aims at achieving a better, more highly trained, technology-educated workforce.

"The engineering and construction industry is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified personnel. Among the many reasons expounded for this is a clear lack of communication that exists from industry about what technology core competencies are needed for the future workforce when they graduate from the current construction management programs," Chasey explained. "The research will provide FIATECH with valuable information and ideas to determine a path forward on how to develop a technology enable workforce."

The scope of this project will include identifying current industry technology requirements as well as identifying innovative existing approaches to teaching technology usage in a multi-discipline environment. This will require surveying key industry stakeholders to determine their required core competencies and also surveying traditional AEC post-secondary educational universities to identify successful collaborative teaching approaches and programs.

For more information, or if you are interested in providing input to this project, contact Allan Chasey at (480) 965-7437 or achasey@asu.edu, or visit the FIATECH Web site.