Yet, the building and construction industry commands the highest employment potential. From high calibre civil engineers, urban planners and craftsmen like carpenters and bricklayers to unskilled labour, about 12 million people are engaged in this industry.

With the tremendous expansion in the industry and the entry of large companies into this sector, there has been a demand for highly trained technocrats to coordinate the various services that are involved, and to manage the work of labour, which still remains largelyunskilled and semi-skilled. Professionals of various disciplines are therefore required in areas such as design, innovation, planning, execution and management.

All professional skills employed in the industry require from training in the particular field of specialisation. These include:

Architects (featured last week) responsible for the planning, designing and supervision of construction work. This requires work on design sketches of proposed buildings, layouts of structures, and coordination with other professionals involved in the execution of the construction work. Architects need to have a degree or diploma in architecture and a licence to practice from the Council of Architects.

Engineers, mainly civil engineers, take over after the architect completes the design, converting the plans into reality. This involves surveying the site, investigating the technical and economic aspects, and organising and supervising the construction work. Civil engineers also handle the construction of roads,bridges, tunnels and other structural facilities, repair and maintenance of buildings and sanitation systems. Engineers are also responsible for the purchase of materials and equipment used. For Civil engineers, a Bachelor’s degree in Civil or Structural Engineering is needed.

The Town and Country Planner’s primary task is to ensure the best utilisation of land, after taking into consideration factors such as topography, location of residential areas, industries, schools, parks and other requirements for the development of towns, cities and colonies. This would require field surveys and studies to collect necessary information after which design layouts in the form of models or sketches would need to be presented. The Town and Country Planning course is a postgraduate study programme offered by some architecture colleges.

A surveyor has to take geometric measurements of land for assessing the feasibility of construction, given the topography of the area. Only when the survey is complete can anyconstruction work commence. The survey of buildings, highways, railways, canals, roads, as well as large scale surveys of towns and cities related to construction is undertaken by a surveyor. A surveyor needs to have a certificate in surveying.

A draftsman usually works with an architect and prepares the preliminary drawings for buildings, roads, bridges, dams and so on. After approval of a project, the draftsman prepares the final site plan with detailed information like sections of structures and roads, floor plans and other specifications keeping in mind the local laws of the land.

Contractors are responsible for coordinating the various elements that go into the construction of a building or structure. They also assume responsibility for its completion with the time and cost specified in the contract. Most contractors specialise in particular kinds of structures. Highway contractors construct roads, highways, bridges etc, heavy construction contractors construct handle water and power developmentprojects, dams, harbours, industrial sites and so on.

There are also special trade contractors who handle specific skills like electrical work, plumbing, air-conditioning, painting, woodwork etc and employ skilled craftsmen for the purpose. Contractors are generally qualified engineers who develop their skills on the job.

The construction industry also requires a number of different skilled craftsmen to handle a variety of structural, mechanical and electrical and finishing work. These include carpenters, masons, welders, marble and tile setters, painters, and pipe fitters, electricians, air-conditioning mechanics and so on. All skilled trades requires requisite training from Industrial Training Institutes (ITI’s) or training under the apprenticeship scheme for each specialised field.

Unskilled labour form the largest block of workforce on a construction site. They perform tasks such as loading and unloading of material, mixing of mortar etc.

Educational and training facilities for the different areasof construction are available at various levels. Degree courses in architecture are offered by around 35 architecture colleges, where the minimum qualification is 10+2 or equivalent with physics, chemistry and mathematics, and an entrance exam for selection.

There are over 400 engineering colleges in India, most of which offer civil engineering at the degree level. These courses are for four years and selection is on the basis of an entrance exam, the minimum qualification being 10+2 with physics, chemistry and mathematics.

In recent years, as the industry gears up to face the challenges of the future, the need for professionalism in construction has seen the setting up of The National Institute of Construction Management and Research in Mumbai and Delhi which offers Master’s courses in construction management. Admission is open to candidates with a graduate degree in any branch of engineering or architecture, or those with a postgraduate degree in arts, commerce or science and two years work experiencein the construction industry.

The duration of the course is 15 months. The Institute also offers a correspondence course at the postgraduate level, which can vary from 18 months to four years.

In addition there are about 500 polytechnic schools, both government managed and private, offering courses in various disciplines related to the construction industry. These include diploma and certificate courses in architecture and draftsmanship, as also surveying. Students can join these courses after Class X, and the duration of the course is normally three years.

A network of around 2,070 industrial training institutes spread all over the country offer certificate courses in various trades related to the construction industry, such as welding, painting, electrical work, plumbing, civil draftsmanship and so on. Educational qualification required is Class VII and the courses vary from one to two years.

Work is available at all levels in this industry as it broadly encompasses all construction activity in thepublic and cooperative sector, as well as the private sector. The Ministry of Urban Development controls several organisations responsible for the construction and maintenance of all government buildings and government land and property. These include the Central Public Works Department, which takes on all central government projects like housing complexes, hospitals, educational institutions and sports complexes, the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, which finances and undertakes the setting up of housing schemes, the Town and Country Planning Organisation, which advises on urban development matters and all new towns and cities, as well as other organisations such as the National Building Construction Corporation and so on. These and state government organisations regularly recruit trained persons at various levels in the organisation.

In recent years several private business organisations have taken up construction projects, particularly with regard to housing complexes. This has enlarged thescope for trained personnel, specially architects, civil engineers and those with a qualification in construction management.

Over the last decade, many skilled and trained professionals from the industry have found lucrative job opportunities abroad, particularly in other developing countries.

However, in this country alone, there is an acute shortage of houses. It is estimated that every year 2 million dwelling units are added on, when 25 million are required at the current population level. Moreover, only about 30 per cent of villages in India are connected by fair weather roads, which implies that there are also rivers to be bridged and canals to be built. With the rapidly growing population and increasing effluence and increased economic activity, there can only be an acceleration or construction work in all sectors, and therefore good employment opportunities for those at all levels in this field.

The writer is the author of Penguin India Career Guide Vol I & II, and producer-director of a TVprogramme on careers entitled Hum Honge Kamyaab. She is also a newsreader on Doordarshan.