Working in construction can be personally—and financially—rewarding, but it also comes with its fair share of physical and mental challenges. It can be quite demanding, and working in the same field in similar positions for a long time can wear you down.
If construction is your passion and switching careers is not of any interest to you, you can make moves in the field without giving up the aspects of the job that you love. The reality is that construction workers have a wide variety of skills that are transferable in order to climb the ladder or make lateral moves, all within the same industry.
If you’re looking to advance your career in construction, you can continue to grow your expertise in these related areas.
Construction-specific skills
There are plenty of specific construction skills that you can learn and specialise in that will come in handy for future projects. Technical skills like masonry, painting, dry walling, roofing, and framing are all important tasks to know when working in construction, and if you have been working in the industry for some time, chances are you already know these.
However, not everyone who does these tasks are familiar with plumbing, electrical, or HVAC work, so you can expand your construction knowledge and take a course to get specialised in these related fields. You could also sign up for traffic control courses or learn managerial skills to branch out into something a bit different. Having a wide skill set means you’re a versatile worker and can take on additional tasks as needed, or share your knowledge on projects as required. This looks good to employers and can help you climb the career ladder.
Office-specific skills
If you are looking to move into more of an office-based role, it’s a good idea to grow your office-related skills. Construction is like any other industry – it’s a business with employees that requires budgeting, planning, marketing, and management. Being familiar with programs like word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation and publishing software can make you a positive asset. Being organised and having the ability to communicate well either in written or verbal form with employees and clients alike can make you an essential asset.
Management-specific skills
Moving up in your construction career may mean moving into a managerial role, and to do so, you will need to demonstrate you have managerial skills and qualities. Managing worksites and projects, managing employees and showing leadership, assigning tasks and ensuring collaboration and quality assurance, and maintaining proper procedures for safety and compliance are all top managerial skills that are important for anyone who wants to grow into a manager role.
Know codes and regulations
In order to move into any position higher up, you need to make sure you’re more than just familiar with codes and regulations – you know them inside and out. Entry-level construction workers aren’t responsible for enforcing these rules, but if you want to continue along your career path, you may eventually be the one enforcing them. In order to get to that point, you need to demonstrate that you know all the details to your employer or supervisor, or to any inspectors that come on-site.
Knowing and understanding safety rules, compliance, environmental and electrical codes, building codes, labour rules and regulations, and having attention to detail is crucial.