Professionally accredited industrial experience: A proposal

The publication of the Chartered Institute of Building's Professional Development Programme has focused attention on the professional competencies expected from graduates entering construction employment and subsequently attaining professional status. This paper reports a proposal from Sheffield Hallam University to incorporate elements of the CIOB requirements for professional competencies within the industrial experience period for sandwich and part-time students on the B.Sc. (Hons) Construction Management course. Many employers have experience of employing industrial placement students, and several enter into formal learning contracts with the students. The Professional Development Programme reflects this 'best practice', and the proposal from SHU intends to promote the scheme for all students and for all employers. Although the experience of students will vary to some degree, the learning outcomes will be directly linked to the competencies denoted in the Professional Development Programme. The intention of the proposal is to promote the scheme to students, as a direct means of assuring entry into the professional body, and to the employers as a formalised framework for students to follow in their industrial placement period. The intention of the research is to examine the applicability of the CIOB professional competencies to students employed for industrial placement periods. This applicability will be judged against the students' ability to achieve these competencies at this stage in their career, and the employers ability to facilitate the opportunity for students to develop the range of competencies within the industrial placement period.