Builder's Day is a professional holiday celebrated every year on the second Sunday of August. It was established in the mid-1950s, and today the industry employs more than 6 million people. On the eve of the holiday, Acting Director of the SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction, Head of the Department of Construction Production and Theory of Structures, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering), Associate Professor Aleksandr Kiianets shared his vision of the situation in the construction industry, and also spoke about the prospects for the development of the institute.
– Aleksandr, why do you think the profession of a builder can be attractive to young people today?
– I think the attractiveness lies in versatility. The person who becomes a builder can realize himself in life in several directions, depending on what he likes best: communication with people, information processing, cash flow management, team management, scientific activity, and so on − all of this construction can offer. Recently, the Ministry of Construction of the Chelyabinsk Region, jointly with the Self-regulating Organization Union of Builders of the Ural Region and Siberia and other professional associations, have held a large forum dedicated to Builder’s Day. During one of the reports there was a roll call, people were asked: Raise your hands, who is a builder, who is a contractor, who is a customer, who is a representative of a real estate agency. From this we can conclude that very diverse organizations in one way or another are directly related to construction. Therefore, young people, choosing this specialization, can always realize themselves and increase their self-esteem in the process of learning and work. Construction allows young people to do this and achieve high goals.
– At first glance, it may seem that building a house is as easy as one-two-three. You take bricks, cement, and the building is ready. But we know that it is not like that. So, what qualities should a specialist in this field have? What does he need to know and be able to do?
– I think that one of the main qualities is determination. A builder must clearly understand what he wants. And courage and responsibility for sure. To some extent, construction workers can be compared to the military, because they have to make very difficult decisions on the fly and take responsibility.
Of course, a builder must have the necessary knowledge that we teach; he must be a competent person. When you communicate with colleagues who have been working in this industry for a long time, you often hear that the ability to build communications with people is also important. A builder must communicate with people in any case, whether he is a member of a team, a middle or senior manager. We are part of the society, and the activities of the organization depend on the actions of the entire team; you cannot be alone here. Even if we take such creative professions as an architect or designer, when a person brings his views to the fore, in any case he has colleagues who provide for his work or he does for someone else’s. Therefore, one of the most important points for a builder is the ability to communicate with people, be part of a team, and perform group tasks.
– Graduates of your institute are in great demand. Let us share with applicants on what prospects open up for students of the SUSU Institute of Architecture and Construction after graduation?
– I think everyone has heard that we have a shortage of personnel in our economy. If we are talking about construction, then there are not enough specialists at all levels: workers, engineers, managers who can manage these processes. Therefore, in recent years we have felt the construction industry paying close attention to our graduates. And if once it were us who asked our partners to take our students for internship or work, now the situation is completely the opposite. From the 3rd year, most of our students already work in construction organizations, and when employers come to graduate students to encourage them to find jobs, they are faced with the fact that all the guys are already employed somewhere, they have to entice, as they say, offer them various goodies, and as a result, there is a lot of competition. Now is the time for graduates, the time for workers, now they can put forward their demands for employment, and they will be heard.
We cooperate with a large number of companies, covering the entire spectrum of construction activities, everything that fits the understanding of architecture and construction. For example, various design organizations associated with the design of industrial buildings and structures, transport, of course, housing construction, contracting organizations, real estate agencies. Nowadays you can often come across such a direction as forensic construction examination, because the volume of construction is large, a lot of corporate conflicts arise, and experts are required to resolve them. Our students also work in supervisory authorities. All paths are open for the guys, and employers offer very decent salaries, even despite the fact that they have no experience. Moreover, many offer students work while they are still studying, providing them with a convenient schedule, good salary and training.
– We would like to congratulate you on your appointment to the position of Acting Director of the Institute of Architecture and Construction. So please let us learn a bit more about you. Please tell us, what your path in the profession was like? How long have you been working at SUSU?
– South Ural State University is my alma mater. I graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Construction in 2001. Since I wrote my thesis on a research topic, I liked it and stayed at the university. I entered postgraduate school, and at the same time worked in construction, in various organizations. The postgraduate school ended, the dissertation was already completed, but not yet defended, and my supervisor, Stanislav Golovnev, who headed the Department of Construction Production Technologies, offered to stay at the department. Well, the path for an academic worker was quite traditional: first I was an assistant, a teacher, then having defended my dissertation, Associate Professor, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering). I worked at the department as an Assistant Professor for a long time; I liked everything: scientific activity and teaching students. Relatively recently I have taken up the post of the Head of the Department of Construction Production and Theory of Structures. Now I have been entrusted with a responsible position, and since I have spent my entire adult life here, I, of course, want to take the institute to new horizons.
– Could you please share more details about this? What are your plans and strategies for the development of the Institute of Architecture and Construction in the coming years?
– I would like to expand cooperation with industrial partners. The difficulty for builders is that construction organizations, relative to some large industrial enterprises, for example, KONAR, MECHEL or MMK, are small, and the planning horizon of builders is also very short. Hence, cooperation with them, despite our mutual desire, is not very productive, especially for us. Therefore, I still want to expand our interaction in terms of joint projects, because, as I said, they need students.
We plan to try to cooperate more with large industrial enterprises. Yes, construction is not their main activity, but since these are large industrial groups, they have a lot of interests related to reconstruction and construction of new production assets, so they are also interested in our graduates. It is important to expand cooperation with them both in scientific, technical and commercial contractual areas, that is, all those tasks that are set for the university must be carried out with the help of industrial partners.
– And in conclusion, what would you wish your colleagues on the eve of their professional holiday?
– On the eve of the holiday, I sincerely wish all my colleagues health, production and creative success, not to stop there and develop our city, region and country!