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Textbooks in this program are used by most students as supplements to
lectures, with tests based primarily on lecture material. These texts are
written at approximately an eleventh to twelfth grade reading level.
Construction blueprint reading is taught in a first-term course; this
specific reading skill is central to the building trades field.
After graduation,
students who choose to enter the union apprenticeship program can expect to
study material data sheets, information on hazardous chemicals and OSHA
safety guidelines.
View more information on reading skills in the Building Trades program.
The required English course for this program is Communication Skills (COM 703).
Other coursework does not include speaking or writing activities.
On the job, entry-level
workers will interact with other workers. Those who move into lead positions
will also interact with customers, so for them one-to-one speaking skills
will be important.
View more information on language skills in the Building Trades program.
Students take the required math course, Applied Math (MAT 772), in their
first term. By the end of the semester, they will be using math skills in
their other coursework to do estimating. Measuring in the English system and
working with fractions are central to this career. Other math activities
include computing cubic footage of concrete and converting decimals to
fractions when working with rafters.
Students who move on into
union apprenticeships will need trig skills. Pay increases in union work are
based on tests of math skills.
View more information on math skills in the Building Trades program.
Notetaking and time management skills are helpful to students in their
coursework. The primary thinking skill used on the work site is following
sequential instructions. Such skills as developing sequential instructions,
making careful observations and solving problems will be important for those
graduates who move into lead positions.
View more information on learning skills in the Building Trades program.
Computer use in this field includes inventory software in lumberyards and
auto-CAD training in the union apprenticeship program. Some companies now fax
changes in plans to the work site, so workers learn to take drawings off a
fax-modem.
View more information on computer skills in the Building Trades program.
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