The need for sustainable development and demand for green buildings requires an expansion of education and training in green construction technologies. Currently, construction education often focuses on traditional skills, such as scheduling and cost estimating. This creates a mismatch between industry needs in the area of green construction and students' academic skills. To bridge the gap between job market needs and academic programs, there is a need for industry-directed curriculum design enabling graduates to quickly transition into positions in green construction. The purpose of this paper is to present a process for developing a curriculum that takes into account industry needs and expectations. DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) is an occupational analysis process that is used to link industry with academia. In one case study, the DACUM process was used over a two-day meeting with green construction professionals from different sectors and companies around Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Duties and skills of a "green construction technologist" were identified through interaction and cooperation of the professionals during a structured brainstorming process. Six main duties were identified including: (1) performing pre-construction phase activities, (2) performing construction phase activities, (3) performing post-construction phase activities, (4) participating in professional development activities, (5) performing 0& M activities, and (6) performing administrative tasks. For each of these main duties, seven to twenty tasks were identified during the DACUM process. To validate the results, a survey was conducted of professionals across construction and related industries. The results of this study will be used to develop a green construction technology certificate program at a local community college. © CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017.All rights reserved.
Author Keywords
Index Keywords
