Like every other profession, being a construction project manager too involves the basic criteria of education, training and relevant experience.This is fast paced industry and operates on strict deadlines. Hence, inherent qualities of leadership, sharp business acumen, prompt decision making skills go a long way in contributing towards being a successful construction project manager. Project manager recruiters assess candidates based on these skills too.

The job of a Construction Project Manager

A construction project manager essentially needs to possess a fair mix of both, engineering and management skills. Your job in this sphere would entail you to interact with and mange a team that includes both, laborers and engineers. You would also have to handle finances and allocate proper budget for various tasks like buying equipments necessary to complete projects. You have to be adept in the process of effort estimation since that is very essential for meeting deadlines. As a project manager, you also would need to set work schedules and coordinate projects. You will be responsible for ensuring that safety precautions against probable hazards are in place and would need to act quickly in case any such unfortunate situation arises. Risk management is one other important responsibility in your job role and you would need to take adequate steps to mitigate all risk factors involved.

Education

Various colleges offer a bachelors degree in the field of construction science and management. Since this is a niche field, specialized education is becoming all the more important and are candidates with such degrees are being preferred by employers. The course covers all aspects of building science along with project management skills like cost estimation and contract administration. A few universities also offer a master’s degree in this field.

Practical knowledge

However, there is no substitute for real-world experience and it is mandatory over and above classroom education. In fact, a simple high school diploma holder can also become a construction project manager after several years of working in this field. On the job learning is of utmost importance in the construction industry.

Training

The general practice is to train all new construction managers as assistants under the guidance of an experienced manager. The duration of this training period may vary from several months to several years too. Imbibe as much as you can during your training period since it would most certainly come of use when you are solely responsible for driving a project to successful completion.

Inculcate the key skills of being a good project manager

Be it time-management skills or conversation and convincing skills, you can proactively groom yourself for the same. You would need to have the foresight to predict what might go wrong and employ measures to eradicate such possibilities. There can be various unforeseen challenges in the field too and for that one needs to possess basic problem-solving ability and analytical skills. As an executive level person in the construction industry, it is imperative that you are acquainted with all construction methods and technologies. In-depth knowledge in this field often comes handy.

Building Construction Project Manager Recruiters place a great deal of importance on all of the aforementioned factors during the recruitment process.