Why Is Technical Training So Rare in Civil Engineering?
Updated: Oct 8
One realization I've had over the past few years is how little technical training exists in civil engineering.
Firms with learning and development departments mostly cover compliance, HR, and leadership. Those are all very needed things. But rarely have I found technical training, which is the very reason we are doing this work in the first place. Why is that?
This is the first of the seven learning needs, and the one I think explains the rest: built from experience.
Why is technical training so rare?
The people who understand the needs best, the ones who have felt those pain points, are also the ones leading the work, doing the work, and sometimes redoing the work. On top of that, teaching is a specialty all on its own. Breaking things down in a clear, concise way takes a different skill than doing the work.
How it usually goes
It tends to go one of two ways. You squeeze whatever training you have in between deadlines, or you find someone who hasn't done the work to help build it. When that happens, the training tends to be more theoretical. The concepts are there, but it's hard to know how to actually apply them on a project.
Why it matters
That is why building your training from experience is so critical. It separates walking away feeling informed from walking away ready to directly apply what you've learned on the job.
Follow along on for the second learning need, coming next week.
About the Author
Laura Oxsen is a dual-licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Learning & Development Specialist, and the founder of Oxsen Learning. She built her training courses from real experience mentoring engineers through these exact workflows.
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