AEC Training Basics: Attract & Retain Engineers by Providing Online Training & Continuing Education

AEC Training Basics: Attract & Retain Engineers by Providing Online Training & Continuing Education
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Every employer in every industry struggles to hire and retain the best talent (employees) that will help drive their organizations to greater success over time. That's always been true at least to some extent and it's definitely true now, at a time when the US labor market just added 500,000 jobs in one month but also experienced two consecutive months with large numbers of employees choosing to leave their jobs.

Accordingly, employers in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) industry are in competition to attract, hire, and retain engineers.

Of course, things like good compensation, helpful benefits, and a positive organizational culture help AEC firms attract and keep top engineering talent. But AEC organizations can also aid their employee hiring and retention efforts by offering their engineers free online training and continuing education options as part of their employee package. We'll talk a little more about how online training and continuing education options can be very valuable to working engineers and to AEC organizations alike.

And speaking of hiring and retaining new engineers, before we begin you might like to register for our upcoming Effective Onboarding Training webinar to get some additional tips for helping newly hired employees transition smoothly into their new job roles.

Making Available Online Job Training for Engineers

It's often the case that an engineer graduates from college with an engineering degree, goes to work for an organization, and works alongside a licensed, professional engineer (PE) before taking his or her own licensing examination, passing it, and becoming a licensed engineer as well.

During the four or more years when an unlicensed engineer (read: not a PE) is on the job, he or she can benefit from learning more about his or her profession, as is true of all workers in all fields. AEC employers who provide these engineers with access to online training help engineers acquire necessary knowledge and develop needed engineering job skills, and doing so will help the employer attract top talent and, once an engineer is hired, keep that engineer with the organization.

Online training course topics offered by Vector Solutions that might be of interest to engineers include but are not limited to:

  • Civil-Construction Engineering
  • Civil-Environmental Engineering
  • Civil-Geotechnical Engineering
  • Civil-Structural Engineering
  • Civil-Transportation Engineering
  • Civil-Water Resources Engineering
  • Electrical
  • Industrial
  • Mechanical
  • Petroleum and/or Chemical

For more information, view specific course titles and sample videos and request more information.

Continuing Education for a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE)

Eventually, an unlicensed engineer may choose to gain an engineering licensed offered by one or more state, as explained here by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).

Becoming a licensed professional engineer can be very emotionally and intellectually satisfying for an engineer. Additionally, it generally comes with higher pay and more responsibility at work, things many engineers would like.

Being a licensed professional engineer means the engineer can:

  • Prepare, sign, seal, and submit drawings and plans to public officials for approval (non-licensed engineers cannot do this on their own)
  • Be eligible to be responsible for or in charge of engineering work
  • Be eligible for a larger number of engineering positions within governmental agencies
  • Much more

But getting licensed isn't a one-and-done thing for a professional engineer. Once licensed, a professional engineer must complete continuing education and professional development training and educational experiences to keep that engineering license current.

Vector Solutions can play a key role in this by offering the kind of continuing education engineers need. AEC organizations may want to investigate our AEC Pro training library to help their engineers (and other professionals) keep their licenses current. Or, if you're looking for yourself, check out our AEC continuing education for individuals webpage.

Whether you're looking for an entire organization or one individual, one thing we're confident you'll love is the online Course Search feature that Vector Solutions offers. Just select the profession (Engineering, in this case), one or more state, and the desired licenses, and our handy online course search tool will tell you the most efficient way to complete your continuing education requirements with the fewer courses. Nice, huh?

That continuing education & licensing course search feature is just one of the many reasons many organizations in the AEC industry believe Vector Solutions, hands down, offers the best AEC training & continuing education solution offered.

Offering Engineering Training & Continuing Education Helps You Attract--and Keep--Top Engineering Employees

The AEC industry is a competitive one and engineers have a choice where to take their talents. There are many things your organization can do to try to attract these engineers (and later keep them with your firm), but offering online training and continuing education opportunities for free is a great start.

Please contact us if you'd like more information how to begin providing these valuable training and education opportunities to the engineers and professional engineers at your organization. Until then, feel free to download our Guide to Online AEC Training, below, as well.

Finally, if you also design, develop, and deliver training in the AEC industry, you might enjoy our ADDIE for AEC Training article.

 

Want to Know More?

Reach out and a Vector Solutions representative will respond back to help answer any questions you might have.