This report describes techniques to promote student awareness of civil engineering as a career option. Also described are methods to enhance awareness for mathematics and science studies in general, as well as programs designed to address employee shortages in other professions. This information along with the results from 17 focus groups was used to identify specific efforts to further the awareness of civil engineering, to retain students already on a civil engineering career path, and to affect curriculums taught in kindergarten through the college level with pertinent civil engineering situations and examples. Although initially responding to indications of a decline in the number of civil engineers, the overall objective of the project grew to include recommendations for actions to increase not only the number of civil engineers interested in transportation careers, but also the quality of those engineers. The recommendations take into account the diverse demographics of our future population. Existing techniques that are now being used to promote student awareness of civil engineering career options and interest in mathematics and science studies were catalogued and described. The 17 focus groups were conducted at 4 locations with students, teachers, parents, and counsellors to gain insight into attitudes on civil engineering as a profession and career option. A conceptual model (the ARC model) was developed and contains three comprehensive and interrelated marketing strategies: Heighten the "awareness" of the civil engineering profession; Improve the "retention" rate of the existing pool of potential civil engineering candidates; and Enhance the "curriculum" of pre-college and college programs. These key strategies serve as the focus for a proposed marketing approach that attacks all of the developmental stages of the pool of potential civil engineers. (A)
Samenvatting