Increasing Technician Preparedness in the Built Environment

This project from Sinclair Community College has a focus on providing community college students, including under represented populations, an opportunity to master STEM competencies and industry standards in demand by employers, and to increase graduate employability in a variety of "built environment" jobs. With architecture technician occupations changing rapidly due to the growing complexity of today's construction industry, this project will transform associate degree programs by embedding critical STEM and industry standards from the Construction Document Technologist (CDT) certificate into two-year education programs. The CDT credential was chosen because it is recognized by employers as a respected entry-level credential and addresses significant gaps in undergraduate education.

With a strong involvement from industry, workforce development will be enabled by involving forty college faculty nationwide to develop and disseminate new curricular modules for undergraduate students enrolled in architectural technician and construction management associate degree programs. The project will enable professional development of community college faculty and staff. Not only will over nineteen hundred community college students be impacted by this project, but project outcomes will also be disseminated to other institutions with educational programs in the built environment. The targeted focus on diversifying their student populations is a strength of the project, as is the direct value to students and graduate job-seekers who will be better able to certify their knowledge and skills to employers. The long-term outcome will be a more diversified workforce that better meets the needs of built environment professions.