Construction Project Management

The Construction Project Management Certificate of Achievement is designed for students that want to pursue management-level careers in the construction industry. Students will learn the business and operational methods that are unique to modern construction such as estimating, planning and scheduling, business practices, and technical writing. This certificate provides the knowledge and skills necessary to seek higher management positions, such as but not limited to, foreman, superintendent, scheduler, estimator, and project manager. This multifaceted program focuses on the technical, managerial, and communications skills that are required to be a successful project manager.

The Construction Project Management Certificate of Achievement is projected to have an increased enrollment of 10-15 students/year with 8-12 completing the certificate annually with future exponential growth.

Cabrillo College is seeking approval from the Chancellor’s Office for  the Construction Project Management Certificate of Achievement in Career Technical Education.  The Construction Project Management certificate provides the fundamental knowledge to address the business aspects of construction management. The need for this certificate has been advocated for by local general contractors, business owners, speciality trade leaders, union members, non-profit organizations, and community members and supported by current, regional labor market index data (TOP Code 0957.00; CIP Code 52.2002). 

The Construction and Energy Management (CEM) program is aligned with Cabrillo’s mission, master plan, and statewide community college work in Guided Pathways.  Approval of this certificate will benefit local and regional employers, fulfill workforce needs of the local community, augment college enrollment, and support non-traditional and underserved minority students in a viable career and academic path. 

The program objectives include benefits to non-traditional learners who profit from hands-on learning. It also gives our students the knowledge and skills they need to qualify for entry-level positions or have a foundation to pursue higher education. This certificate is part of a package of stackable certificates of achievement that lead to an associate in science degree. They also allow for specialization exploration and vocational occupations. 

The potential for a starting salary for Construction Management is  $22.38/hour in the Santa Cruz subregion and $30.49/hour in the Bay Area subregion. This is a baseline starting salary and is variable depending on previous skills and experience in addition to ongoing advancement in employment and education. 

Connecting students to our faculty using experiential learning and knowledge is the cornerstone of our program. It is critical to student learning and landing them employment opportunities by providing them industry insight, career exploration, in addition to the technical and business skills. 

Based on all available Labor Market Index (LMI) data, there appears to be an undersupply of Construction and Energy Management TOP Code 9570.00 compared to the demand for this occupation in the Bay region and in the Santa Cruz-Monterey sub-region (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties). The annual gap between demand and supply is about 3,101 students in the Bay region and 152 students in the Santa Cruz-Monterey sub-region.  The purpose of our program is to train and certify students to meet the high labor market demand needs in our local and regional areas. 

There are 18 required units focused on construction and project management. 

The Construction Project Management certificate is part of an interdisciplinary program in the Construction and Energy Management department at Cabrillo College. The majority of core courses are in CEM that share synergy with engineering, e-tech, and welding. The CEM department also collaborates with Computer Applications and Business Technology (CABT) and Counseling/Guidance and features their courses packaged in certificate offerings  This certificate can be a stepping stone for students to pursue other certificates and degrees at community college.

Cabrillo College has collaborated with and received mentoring from successful programs.  We hope to promote construction and energy management to our students and continue to develop strong workforce professionals in this area.  The sequencing of courses is designed to prepare students to be successful when they continue their education or join the workforce at entry level positions. Furthermore, program content and program mapping have been chosen based on student needs.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CEM154	Construction Estimating	3.00	S2
CEM155	Blueprint Reading	3.00	S1
CABT157	Business and Technical Writing	3.00	S2
CEM159	Construction Planning and Estimating	3.00	S2
CEM160	Construction and Energy Management	3.00	S1
CEM162	Sustainable Construction	3.00	S2

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Hartnell College has an A.S. Degree and one Certificate of Achievement requiring 16 to less than 30 semester units under Top Code 0957.00* Civil and Construction Management Technology. Harntell Dean of Academic Affairs Clint Cowden was contacted on 3/8/2022 via email. He responded on 3/8/2022 and expressed that Harntell is fully supportive of Cabrillo’s submission of the Construction Project Management Certificate of Achievement.