Employers are often dismayed by how unprepared new graduates are to face the demands of the dynamic and increasingly competitive A/E/C industry, according to Chuck Pinckney, Executive Vice President, Diversified Project Management and Board of Advisors Chairman of the University of Hartford-based Construction Institute.
The Board of Advisors and Young Professionals Council of the Construction Institute are bringing educators, employers and students together to discuss the future of the workforce in the A/E/C industry, emphasizing the higher educational process, in a special program entitled "Another Brick in the Wall: Building the Framework to Better Prepare Graduates for the A/E/C Industry."
The program will be held Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center, University of Hartford, 35 Westbourne Parkway in Hartford from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., beginning with registration and networking at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $50 for Construction Institute members, $65 for non-members and free to students.
The program is designed as a forum to examine how schools that teach architecture, engineering and construction management prepare graduates for the challenges of the working world, Bill Cianci, executive director of the Construction Institute explained. "Our goal is to have a meaningful discussion on how colleges and universities can work collaboratively with industry professionals to develop curricula that effectively meet their mutual goals."
The program will take place in a structured round-table format. Panelists include faculty and program heads from area colleges and A/E/C industry executives responsible for hiring, mentoring and developing younger employees:
Louis Manzione, Dean, college of Engineering Technology and Architecture (CETA), University of Hartford
John Plante, P.E., Senior Associate, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services
Angela Cahill, AIA, Partner, Schoenhardt Architects
Charles Tobin, President, C.E. Floyd Company, Inc.
Ben Woolley, Senior Consultant, Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Jacob Kovel, Ph.D., P.E.; Associate Professor and Chair, Construction Management department, Central Connecticut State University
James Fuller, Associate Professor, CETA, School of Architecture, University of Hartford
Zach Herrick, Account Manager, Aerotek, professional staffing for the A/E/C industry.
Contact:
Bob Gonyeau, (860) 768-4459
The Construction Institute
bgonyeau@construction.org
or
Geryl Rose, 860-712-6643
The Construction Institute, Marketing Committee
gerylrose@sbcglobal.net
The Construction Institute, a division of The University of Hartford, is a non-profit, non-partisan association of diverse professionals working to improve the construction industry by sharing experiences and knowledge, advancing relationships, and developing business leaders. For more information or to register for the program visit www.construction.org.
The Young Professionals Council is a new initiative designed specifically to provide networking and educational opportunities for young professionals in the construction industry. The YPC provides a much needed focus on the issues and concerns confronting the youth of the workforce and how those issues affect their employers.
The YPC meets on the second Thursday of each month at 8:30 am in the Construction Institute's Wetherell Centre conference room located at 312 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT, 06117.
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