New study highlights communication skills construction engineering graduates need

Students working to become construction engineers take courses in construction materials and methods, mechanics of materials, and geotechnical engineering among others. They learn about soils, structural design, and electrical circuits. But what about the soft skills like interpersonal communication? How well are universities preparing their students for the realistic needs of the marketplace?

A recent study co-authored by Tina Coffelt, professor in the Department of English, explored those questions and examined whether there was a gap between the courses construction engineering students are required to take and the communication skills they need for their new jobs.

The study, “Which communication skills do I need? A multimethod study of communication needs in construction engineering,” published in the Journal of Business and Technical Communication, explores the communication skills employers seek in recent construction engineering graduates.

While Coffelt’s background is in business communication, she became interested in the communication needs of construction engineering students after engineering faculty members approached her.

“I had done some previous studies looking at what communication skills employers expect regardless of the major,” Coffelt said. “I was talking about this research with a group of faculty across disciplines, and I was approached by a member of the construction engineering faculty.” They were interested in her research because they saw a need to boost their students’ communication skills. The engineering faculty agreed to work together with Coffelt and designed a new study.

To assist with their research, Coffelt and her colleagues, Katherine Madson, assistant professor in civil, construction, and environmental engineering, and Jennifer Shane, W.A. Klinger Chair and director of Construction Management and Technology Program in the Institute for Transportation, applied for and received an F. Wendell Miller Faculty Fellowship Award. This program offers recipients opportunities to strengthen their scholarly work within the university’s undergraduate academic programs and create innovative strategies to improve student learning.

Data analysis

Coffelt and her team, assisted by Neha Raju (MS ’24 construction engineering and management), combed through 100 job listings and identified the communication skills listed most frequently. The researchers then interviewed 11 employers. The analysis of job ads found that oral communication skills accounted for over half of all communication skills mentioned. And of that amount, the majority were looking for interpersonal skills, followed closely by being able to work as part of a team.

“Employers need to hire recent college graduates with great technical skills and with the ability to interact on the job,” Coffelt said.

When they talked with employers, the research team found that while the new graduates had sufficient written communication skills, they were lacking in some interpersonal and oral communication abilities. Assertiveness, relationship building, and audience adaptation were some of the other key attributes most identified in the interviews.

A vital skill

Both written and verbal communication skills are frequently listed among employers’ top 10 most-desired skills. In NACE’s Job Outlook 2020 survey, more than 91% of employers wanted new employees to have experience working as part of a team when identifying the business and professional communication skills most important for new hires. The Project Management Institute reported in 2013 that when there was miscommunication, 73% of projects were completed late.

“The engineers are getting so much technical background, but when they actually get on the job, much of their work is leading projects and working with people. And they’re not all quite ready to take on these types of responsibilities,” Coffelt said.

Interpersonal communication skills are vital. While working on a project, construction engineers are expected to interact with a wide variety of stakeholders, including utility companies, municipalities, the general public, and financing bodies as well as workers on job sites and sub-contractors.

“That engineer is interacting with almost everyone. They are almost a mini hub that keeps moving around,” Coffelt said.

Coffelt stressed that good interpersonal communication skills are essential to the job site.

“Issues that happen in project management can be caused by miscommunication somewhere in the chain,” she said.

A way forward

Coffelt’s study confirms the need to add interpersonal communication classes to the construction engineering curriculum. She and her colleagues used their study to develop new course material for students.

“We took the results of this study and developed learning modules that were then planted into two different construction engineering classes,” Coffelt explained.

She continues working with construction engineering faculty to examine interactions between construction engineers and tradespeople.

“We’re still very early in the process but I hope that takes off,” Coffelt said.