Up-skilling the New Zealand construction industry: a critique of the learning options

Abstract

Education for the building and construction industry in New Zealand is facing a considerable shift in scale because of the requirement for builder licensing by 2010. The Department of Building and Housing has authorised five educational options for the industry up-skilling programme: self-directed learning, reading materials provided by the Registrar, receiving formal instruction, attending an information session, or any other activity considered by the Registrar to be relevant. This paper questions the efficacy of two of these options based on research that was undertaken in 2005 to identify the preferred learning styles of those in the construction industry. We conclude that the options ‘self-directed learning’ and ‘reading materials provided by the Registrar’ will not provide pathways to educational qualifications, but may be barriers to the success of the up-skilling project.