Don State Technical University Experience of Enhancing Vocational Training of the Specialists in Organisation of Construction

Abstract

Introduction. Professional requirements set for the specialists in organisation of construction (job foremasters and foremen) grow from year to year along with the emergence of new building technologies, materials, machines and equipment. After implementation of the new professional standards in our country, such specialists are urged to acquire the additional knowledge, abilities and skills necessary for fulfilling their job functions and activities in compliance with their proficiency level. Therefore, searching the ways of enhancing the vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction has become the objective of the authors’ research.Materials and Methods. To achieve this objective, the authors have developed a series of additional activities for teaching the specialists in organisation of construction, based on improving the competencies required in their profession. This series of activities includes the initial, intermediate and final stages of vocational training. The initial stage is implemented during the first three years of bachelor and long first degree (specialist) programmes within direction of study “Construction” and the remaining two stages – during the last years of university study or after graduation.Results. The article presents the Don State Technical University experience of enhancing vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction. The article contains the information on integration into the educational process of the photo and video tests, construction machines simulators, business games (including the ones on erecting the building structures out of the crane operator’s field-of-view), thematic references on difficult (challenging) issues of construction production, glossary of construction slang, as well as the information on organisation of the student scientific circle “Student construction control”.Discussion and Conclusion. The experience of enhancing vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction accumulated by the authors is successfully implemented at the Continuing Education Department and the Production Technology in Construction Chair of Don State Technical University. It can be recommended for implementation in other universities where students of the direction of study “Construction” are educated.