Recommendations for the Indian Construction Industry

India lacks professionals with such developed skills and a sole representative organization of the construction industry. Currently the industrial organization and the institutional organization run parallel without any relation. The institutional organization acts as a supplier on the demand of the industrial organization but there is no organization to bridge the gap between the two. As a result the quality of professionals and the quality of education has not improved as there has been no input from the industrial organization to the educational organizations. It is very vital for the industry to have an organization which represents the built environment of India including institutions and professional bodies so that they can work together for the benefit of the industry and the gap between the two organizations could be narrowed. Questions have been raised in the past and have been on the rise on the quality of teaching and the falling standard of education in the institutions. The need to review the policies must be examined thoroughly so that the Indian construction industry can grow (Argyris and Schon, 1996).

From the data analyzed and Henry Ford’s academy model it can be seen that individuals do learn more from seeing and doing the activities (Ford, 1926). In the construction industry it is necessary to know how things are being done so that theory and practice could be related to each other. It is necessary that the institutional organization realize that the learning style of all individuals is not the same (explained in section 2.2.2); having a mix of workshops, guest lectures, conferences and introducing interactive tools for learning would not only enhance the teaching standards but also incorporate learning styles of all individuals as described by Kolb (1984).

India being a country comprising of 29 states and 7 union territories has different political parties having an influence in different states. This results in the functioning of many organizations within all sectors. The role of the central government must be to establish some organizations on a national level so that it is accepted across India. Currently the CIDC which is the representative of industrial organization is established by the political parties of only 16 states, it has not yet been accepted nationally. However the institutional heads i.e. the AICTE is the head of technical education across all states and is responsible for educating individuals and approving the course all across India. This results in the organization representing India as a whole from an institutional front but not from an industrial front. The government must create an organization for the industry which needs to be nationally accepted so that the industry and institutional organizations can work together for the benefit of the whole sector.

The individual organizations responsible for the teaching of technical education within the AICTE (ex. COA) must be given the independence to interact with the industry and review the teaching techniques. Because of the rapid growth the industry is undergoing the implementation of modern technology has been on the rise. A review of teaching standards must be done every few years so that the students are taught with respect to the updated technology being implemented in the industry. They are prepared for the profession and the role which they would be a part of. Exposing them to the way the industry functions and increasing the tenure of training for individuals must also be reviewed. The sub organizations must also take responsibility of professionals who they give out licenses to practice and introduce CPD training for them as well so that they continue to grow and evolve within the system. The system and the professionals in the industry would grow together and this would lead to a learning environment and a learning construction industry.

Currently there are various research organizations for the construction industry in India which hold workshops for professionals as well as students. These organizations however work independently and have no coordination among each other. Some organizations do collaborate with a few institutes but all institutions may not be involved in such workshops. This results in a non uniform growth of students as institutions which are financially stable may afford such workshops but others may lack such resources to carry out these activities. The industry must come together and set up a head of research organizations which is responsible for such activities for better coordination and collaboration. This will result in these events being conducted across various venues at various times giving individuals more opportunity to participate. There will result in a uniform growth across the country.

The government must focus on building a team for the construction industry in order to evolve the system as a whole. It is necessary that they have a shared vision with that of the industry so that the output is beneficial for a sector which is very important to India. The team must involve of individuals from all sectors which act as a leader and represents all organizations. The role of this team would be the same as the CIC in the UK construction industry. This would then accomplish the characteristics which a learning organization needs (as discussed in section 2.2).

The dissertation takes into consideration the functioning of the UK construction industry and discusses the success of such a system. If the institution and industry work together then it will not only benefit individuals but also society. The construction sector is one of the major sectors which impact all individuals irrespective of them being a part or not. The construction sector effects the environment as well as the people living in it and hence the importance of it cannot be ignored. Benefit to the construction industry will not only have an impact in the society and the system but would also have economic benefits, but for that to happen it is necessary that all sectors of the construction industry work together as a single organization.

The above set of recommendations would help the construction industry grow and evolve over a period of time. These set of recommendations have been put forward after reviewing the literature and having understood the scenario by interviewing professionals within the industry. These recommendations may not be the only solution for the benefit of the industry but is aimed at focusing on the need to build a relationship between the industry and the institutes. The development of professionals after institutional education has an impact post education as well and this dissertation focuses on the overall benefit of the industry by the introduction of learning post education.