HOW BIM TRAINING HELPS YOUNG ALBERTANS GET BACK ON THEIR FEET

According to many key metrics, Alberta’s recession is finally over. Earnings are up and unemployment is down. Jobs are being created by the thousands. However, for many, these numbers sound a little more like a hollow promise than a true measure of a return back to normal.

Just under four years after the beginning of Alberta’s recession, young Albertans between the ages of 15 to 24, and especially young male Albertans are continuing to struggle to find work. A recovering economy and shrinking unemployment rate have not delivered much new hope or opportunity to young men—even when many other Albertans have seen their fortunes bounce back.

Many of these young Albertans originally elected to leave school early to pursue lucrative careers in the petroleum industry. As a result, when the recession hit, they often had less training or education to fall back on.

Returning to school might now seem intimidating, and some might understandably feel pessimistic about whether their efforts will lead to a good career. However, there’s still plenty to be hopeful for and there are opportunities to be found in many unexpected places. Building Information Modeling (BIM), for example, is experiencing plenty of growth. In addition, training programs often take a year or less to complete, allowing young professionals to quickly step into a new career.

Read on to learn why BIM could be key to getting young Albertans back on their feet.

One of the biggest reasons to be excited about BIM is because of its close relationship with Canada’s evolving construction industry. Research from Buildforce Canada states that an estimated 247,900 retirements will occur between 2017 and 2026 within the construction industry. In addition, it’s projecting that only 215,700 new entrants are expected to take their place. This is just one part of a larger trend, which is seeing new professionals, ideas, and tools being adopted to modernize Canada’s construction industry in preparation for an era of greater efficiency and output.

It’s worth noting that of the various opportunities that will be present in construction, few have the kind of allure or versatility that you find with BIM.

It won’t be long now before every company will be using BIM. Why? Because it utterly transforms the process of design and construction for the better.

The technology is used to model structures in digital space, price out how much the materials will cost to create the structures, test out how they can perform for energy efficiency, and much more besides. Incredible boosts to resource efficiency and cost effectiveness are possible with BIM.

If a business is not using BIM, it is likely wasting money, which is why more and more businesses are catching up to the trend and starting to use BIM for their projects. With this ongoing race toward BIM comes greater demand for graduates of building information modeling college, who are needed to lead the way.

Despite its high-tech capabilities, BIM is an incredibly accessible pursuit. BIM training programs can be completed in six to twelve months and are a lot of fun, too. Rather than endless essays and lectures, the best BIM training programs offer a hands-on learning experience meant to teach aspiring professionals the real skills that employers look for from their new hires. This includes skills in drawing and modeling 3D structures, presenting technical information in an understandable format, and other skills that come in handy in the world of technical design.

Better still, because of BIM’s applicability across so many areas of the residential, commercial, and industrial construction sectors, there’s no end to the opportunities available to those with the right training. A newly trained BIM professional can embark on their career feeling confident that they have the skills required to work in all manner of interesting projects for many years to come. For anyone who has been struggling to find meaningful work in the wake of Alberta’s recession, it offers a welcome change.

Think you might like to study in a building information modeling program?

Study at Digital School for a top-quality, hands-on education!