Gainesville, Fla., may be warm most of the time, but the job market facing students at the University of Florida’s M.E. Rinker School of Building Construction has been downright chilly. Only 50 industry firms showed up at its fall job fair, down from 115 with 15 on a waiting list in spring 2007. In years past, the school placed 95% of graduating seniors and master’s students, but only 50% so far in 2009.
The downturn has hit engineering and construction programs on campus, and for many used to better times, it comes as a shock. But ever the innovators, schools are finding ways to be more frugal and make graduates more competitive and productive in a changing industry. Some programs also are benefitting from an enrollment upsurge as prospects await job-market improvements and seek new and enhanced skill sets. “There is a need to develop ‘transformer’ students who can quickly adapt,” says Craig Capano, head of the civil, construction and environment department at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston.