July 22, 2008

Gold Seal beefs up requirements for construction management certification

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Recognizing that both the scope and complexity of construction management have increased dramatically over the past decade, the Gold Seal committee is beefing up requirements for certification.

As of January 2009, the minimum level of experience required to become Gold Seal certified will increase from three years to five years. However, candidates registered before the end of this year will not be affected.

“Technical knowledge, new building and management techniques, regulatory compliance and safety and environmental legislation have introduced challenges we had never heard of in the past,” said committee chair John Schubert.

“Today’s managers are forced to be at the top of their game.”

This change puts the certification program for personnel in the occupations of estimator, superintendent, project manager, owner’s project manager and construction safety coordinator in line with the approach taken by the American Institute of Constructors.

Also as of 2009, changes are being incorporated in terms of training and educational requirements. The requirement for a minimum number of 30-hour courses has been removed. Industry training and formal education will be treated in the same category, rather than having separate minimums as in previous years.

“Construction education and training has proliferated substantially over the past few years across Canada,” said program manager Andrew Shepherd. “Given that, training and education will be treated generically as professional upgrading.”

Changes also are being incorporated to take into account “the increasingly global nature” of the industry, with Canadian firms competing overseas and “many more” managers with foreign experience and education working in Canada.

Effective immediately, applicants for certification require a minimum of two years of Canadian experience, an increase from the previous requirement of one year. Foreign experience will be credited.

All foreign education is applicable as long as the applicant has a Canadian certificate of equivalency.

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