Careers in construction management

The building and construction industry in India is vast with an annual turnover running into hundreds of billion rupees. The new townships coming up around us, the roads we travel on, the highways, bridges and flyovers, new airports, metro rail services, the spanking new shopping malls, the chrome and glass office blocks, are just some of the projects handled by this enormous industry. Not surprising then that the building and construction industry commands the highest employment potential. From high caliber civil engineers, architects and urban planners and craftsmen like carpenters and bricklayers to unskilled labour, this industry engages about 12 million people. The present boom is expected to see that figure zoom still higher over the next few years. The top construction companies are expected to absorb over 20,000 fresh recruits with a variety of skills such as architecture, building engineering, urban planning, construction management and so on.

All professional skills employed in the industry require formal training in the particular field of specialisation. These include: Architects, Civil engineers or structural engineers, Town and Country Planner’s, surveyor, draughtsman, Contractors etc.

Facilities available for education and training in the subject - Construction Management:

A postgraduate on-campus programme available at NICMAR is the Postgraduate Programme in Project Engineering and Management. This is a two-year, full-time, residential programme, offered from Pune. It aims at developing knowledgeable professional project managers with the skills to solve multifaceted project management problems.

Distance education

Distance education programmes in NICMAR: Two-year postgraduate programmes, One-year graduate programmes & Six-month graduate certificate programmes

Part-time programmes

• One-year Postgraduate Programme in Construction Management for Working Executives is offered from Mumbai.

• Graduate Programme in Quantity Surveying is offered from Mumbai

All these programmes are open to graduates in any branch of engineering. For some of the programmes, graduates in architecture are also being considered. There are programmes to which graduates in non-engineering disciplines can seek admission, provided they have at least two years of appropriate experience.

The School of Planning And Architecture

This is a noted centre of excellence in the field of architecture – a specialised University, which exclusively provides training at various levels, in different aspects of human habitat and environment. Among other things, the school conducts the following programmes as well: Bachelor’s Programme in Planning; Master’s Programme in Building Engineering and Management; Master’s Programme in Planning with specialisation in – Environmental Planning; Housing; Transport Planning; Regional Planning; Urban Planning.

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, conducts an M.Tech. programme in Building Technology and Construction Management

• Anna University, Chennai – 600 025, conducts a Master of Engineering programme in Construction Engineering and Management.

CEPT University

The Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Kasturbhai Lalbhai Campus, University Road Ahmedabad – 380009), a centre of excellence, has the declared objective of “pursuing excellence in training, research and development in design, technology, services and management in areas concerning the developed and natural environment for the human society.”

It conducts various programmes of quality, including – Undergraduate Programme in Construction Technology; Master’s programmes in Construction and Project Management; Environmental Planning; Housing; Infrastructure; Landscape Architecture; Structural Design; Urban and Regional Planning; and Urban Design.

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, conducts an M.Tech. programme in Building Technology and Construction Management

• University of Roorkee conducts an 18-month Postgraduate courses in Urban and Rural Planning, and Building Science

• Anna University, Chennai – 600 025, conducts a Master of Engineering programme in Construction Engineering and Management.

IGNOU

Indira Gandhi National Open University conducts a Bachelor in Technology in Civil (Construction Management) four-year programme comprising four modules of study. The programme structure provides in-built modularity and flexibility. After successful completion of the first two modules, a learner is eligible for the award of an Advanced Diploma in Construction Management.

If I missed any other good institue, please feel free to add in the comments section below.