Wei Wu, Georgia Southern University Raja R. A. Issa, University of Florida BIM Education for New Career Options

 Introduction  Background  Motivation & Objective  Methodology  Results & Findings  Conclusion & Discussions  Q&A Agenda

Introduction: job market Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012

 Broad uptake of BIM across the industry and academia (Sabongi & Arch 2009, Barison & Stantos 2010)  Lack of competent “BIM” talent at professional positions (Smith & Tardif 2009)  BIM Education holds the key (McGraw-Hill Construction 2009) Background

 Current research of BIM education focuses on:  Leveraging BIM as an interruptive technology: BIM contents and tools in traditional courses.  Establishing BIM as a new paradigm: BIM in a transformed curriculum and pedagogical strategy.  Very little literature on:  how BIM education might impact students’ career development;  how current recruiting practices in companies might affect the selection of the forms and contents of college BIM curricula Motivation

 Investigate perspectives of educators and professionals on current BIM education.  Demonstrate BIM as an emerging career option  Facilitate communication & collaboration for win- win outcomes. Objective

 Dual-track online survey using convenience sample and targeting 2 populations  P1: educators  P2: industry professionals  Comparable question sets intended for comparative analysis  Deployed through zoomerang.com for 4 months Methodology

 Summary of survey outcomes  728 total visits  120 completed questionnaires  46 P1 respondents  74 P2 respondents  93 partials  26 screen-outs Results and findings

P2 Sample Composition P1 Sample Composition Demographics

P2 Sample Composition P1 Sample Composition Demographics

BIM uptake status

Length of time on board of BIM

P1 – BIM integration approach

P1 – Priorities of BIM curriculum

P2 – awarded BIM projects/year

P2 – % annual revenue related to BIM

Student career development & BIM staffing

Identified BIM job titles

P1 - Factors contributing to students’ decision on a BIM career More important

P1 - Incentives in promoting BIM oriented career path in colleges

P2 – Existing no. of dedicated BIM positions

P2 – With or without “BIM” department

P1 – Expected BIM job market growth

P2 – Outlook of BIM positions budgeted per time frame

Gaps & Opportunities for BIM Education & Recruiting

P1 vs. P2 – Effectiveness of BIM education in preparing students for a “BIM career”

P2 – defects of college BIM education

P2 – General sources of BIM recruiting

Current impacts (% recruited from college students) Current practice P2 – College BIM recruiting practices

P2 – importance of BIM education to BIM recruiting P1 – job market competitiveness w/ vs. w/o BIM education Perceived importance of BIM education

Perceived priorities of BIM education SLOs P1 Respondents 5- point Likert Scale Rating P2 Respondents 5- point Likert Scale Rating SLOs Rating Average Rating Rank Rating Average Rating Rank Knowledge of BIM concept and literature BIM software application skills Understanding of BIM facilitated green design and sustainable construction Network based BIM model management knowledge Understanding of BIM standards and interoperability issues BIM-based capstone project experience BIM internships and working experiences

P1+P2 - Desired collaboration & partnership

 Rapid BIM uptake in academia and AEC industry.  A stronger BIM market had created an impetus for more effective and efficient education and recruiting.  College recruiting programs had not established any firm priorities to BIM dedicated positions yet.  Willingness to enhance BIM recruiting exists in both communities. Conclusions & Discussions

 Engagement  BIM Talent Profiling  Incentives  Benchmark Suggested improvements

 Establish the qualification profiles for BIM positions in companies.  Mapping such profiles to college BIM education:  BIM specialist?  BIM generalist?  Strategies and instrument for cultivating the BIM culture in college programs.  Impacts of BIM on Talent Acquisition in AEC Companies (please participate in our survey!) Future work

Wei Wu, Assistant Professor, Department of Construction Management, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USA Raja R. A. Issa, Rinker Professor, Rinker School of Building Construction, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Thank you! Questions? Comments?