Who is a construction manager?
A construction manager is a professional whose job entails planning, control as well as coordination of major construction projects from start to finish. In summary, these professionals oversee planning, coordination, budgeting, as well as supervision of all construction projects from inception to completion.

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What is construction manager’s work environment?
Construction managers work in offices but spend considerable amount of time in construction sites supervising major construction activities.

What are some construction manager’s career opportunities?
Construction managers can find employment within government, academia, private sector and non-governmental organizations.

Typical employment areas include; various government ministries& parastatals, training institutions, building construction firms, engineering companies, quantity surveying firms, project evaluation and costing firms, building maintenance services, architectural firms among others.

These professionals can also start their own businesses within the construction industry.

How to become a construction manager in Kenya.
Secondary school subject selection plays a vital role in determining ones career choice. This is because, the subjects you are going to choose while in secondary school will determine your future career choice(s). Young people should therefore become aware of the subject requirements for various career options.

High School Preparation
To pursue a career as a construction manager, you will require good performance in the following cluster subjects.

1. SUBJECT 1: MAT A,
2. SUBJECT 2: PHY,
3. SUBJECT 3; any GROUP III,
4. SUBJECT 4; 2nd GROUP II or 2nd GROUP III or any GROUP IV or any GROUP V

Education and Training Routes
There are various education and training pathways you can pursue and become a construction manager. If you work hard and score good grades in the above subject’s combination with a good overall mean grade of at least KCSE C+ (plus) and above, you can pursue this career directly in the university (academic route).

However, if you do not qualify for direct university admission for this career option, you can still pursue it through a different route (technical route). Under the technical route, you will pursue a diploma course that can help you further your education along this pathway.

So what course(s) can you pursue in either route and eventually become a construction manager?

Academic route
Bachelor of Science in Construction Management or similar course(s). KCSE mean grade C+ (plus) and above.

Technical route

1. Diploma in Architecture
2. Diploma in Building Construction
3. Or other relevant fields. KCSE mean grade C- (minus)

Important skills to have
To work successfully as a construction manager, you will be required to possess important skills some of which are listed below.

10. Communication skills
11. Visualization skills
12. Analytical skills
13. Business skills
14. Decision making skills
15. Leadership skills
16. Time management skills
17. Writing skills
18. Technical skills
19. Creativity skills
20. Teamwork skills
21. Problem solving skills
22. Detail oriented skills
23. Organizational skills
24. Presentation skills among others

How to Join College and or university
There are two ways you can follow to join training institution(s) in pursuit of your career of choice. The majority way is applying through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps). This is a state owned agency that admits/ places government sponsored students to colleges and universities. One of the advantages of applying through Kuccps is that, upon successful placement, you will pay subsidized fee as a government sponsored student.

To be placed through Kuccps you must have attained a certain pass mark required for various education levels for (degrees/diplomas/certificates etc.) For more details on placement criteria, visit Kuccps website. The second approach is applying directly to training institution of your choice. Students who opt to apply this way do not get government fee subsidy and are therefore self-sponsored.

How to fund your post-secondary education.
If you are a needy student, upon application, you can get education loan from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), a state owned institution that gives education loans to students joining technical colleges and universities. You can also access education bursaries from your local Member of Parliament (MP) or the County Government among other sources.

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