Knowledge areas for training junior civil engineers in operations and construction management tasks

After leaving university with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, many graduates join construction companies in key roles such as operations engineer or project manager. Junior engineers often acquire the knowledge they need through mentorship by experienced engineers. Their knowledge is acquired on-the-job, according to the requirements of whatever projects are underway when they begin their employment. This study introduces the required areas of knowledge, with the goal of integrating junior engineers efficiently and effectively into the construction industry. The study found that the knowledge acquired by a graduate with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering does not match the knowledge required for engineers working in management and operations roles. In addition, the process of learning and filling in knowledge gaps often takes place on-the-job, or immediately before beginning a new project, without any external monitoring of the content or quality of the knowledge acquired. Although the various topics were defined by the engineers as important to their work, the findings indicate that both experienced engineers and young engineers need to fill in their knowledge gaps in critical various fields. This study highlights the need to build a comprehensive, standardized training program for all young engineers entering the workforce in construction management in order to fill in the knowledge gap and provide them with the tools to integrate properly in construction companies.