Bridging the Skills Gap in AEC&M: The Critical Role of LMS Platforms

Ongoing training for organizations in the fields of Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing (AEC&M) is a mission-critical initiative. The skills gap that we’ve spoken about recently is most pressing for manufacturing and construction, but architecture and engineering firms also face similar challenges: industry demand that outpaces workforce growth, rapidly shifting technology, and large-scale projects involving coordination between multiple internal departments, external contractors, and clients. Standardization and regulation are high, bringing with them their own ongoing training requirements.

To meet these needs, businesses within the AEC&M sectors need a Learning Management System (LMS) to centralize training resources, make them accessible to employees wherever they are, and track learning progress. However, the options at first glance are overwhelming. The LMS industry includes numerous variations, each with their own user features, admin functions, and content libraries. Deciphering which is the best choice for your team can involve weeks of research, just to narrow your options down to the top contenders.

Making the correct choice isn’t just a matter of features and functions—it also has a direct impact on the success of a training initiative. Many workers disengage from learning even when they list opportunities for ongoing education as one of their most valued benefits. The disconnect is clear: if employees want training, but feel that the training provided is inadequate, they may gripe about specific solutions while still asking for more training.

For example:

• A BIM manager needs to check for design clashes in Navisworks.
• An engineer wants to create an analytical structural model in Revit.
• A construction foreman wants to reassign crew members in Procore.
• A mechanical engineer needs help with assembly modeling in SOLIDWORKS.

In each of these cases, if the worker doesn’t know how to perform a step in their software, they may spend hours searching YouTube for an effective tutorial, or probing Reddit for peer advice. As they do, they’ll have to evaluate the overall quality of each answer for trustworthiness (is this source knowledgeable?), timeliness (are their answers up to date with the latest software?), and comprehensiveness (are they telling me everything I need to know, or have they skipped important details?). This can eat up hours of a person’s day and prevent them from being effective in their job.

This is where an LMS like Pinnacle Series, which is purpose-built for the AEC&M industries, stands apart. By making it easy for employees to find the exact training materials they need right when they need them, we help architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing businesses achieve more from their elearning initiatives. Here are six benefits of choosing an LMS that specializes in AEC&M sectors.

1. Access an Industry-Based Content Library.

Perhaps the first and most immediate benefit of choosing an LMS that supports employee training in Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing comes when the learning solution also provides a robust, industry-relevant content library. If you buy a generic LMS—one that is equipped with course creation features but no pre-loaded content—then you will have to either build that training content yourself, search for subject matter experts to build it for you, or source a separate elearning partner on top of your LMS purchase.

When you invest in an LMS that includes industry training content as well as content creation features, your team can get the support they need from day one. That’s why we’ve equipped Pinnacle Series with comprehensive training materials across a range of the most widely used programs among AEC&M companies—and why we invest so much time in a content team that can keep that training up to date.

2. Increase the Relevance of Learning Content.

Access to training is one thing, but no one wants to wade through a long course just to find the answer they need in the last five minutes. If an employee already has advanced knowledge in a certain program, then features that allow them to find exactly the content they need are essential. Our Pinnacle Series LMS solves this problem in two ways: first, with search functions that make it easier for users to pinpoint relevant course content; and second, with skill assessments that create customized learning paths for users.

3. Create Custom Workflows to Ensure Quality Control.

Learning paths aren’t the only customizable feature offered by our Pinnacle Series LMS. We’ve heard from our users that workflows are an important support for workers in industries with high quality control needs. It’s simply too easy for a user to forget a step, for the person training them to skip a key detail, or for someone used to following a standardized process from one firm to use that same process in their new firm—even if it’s not the right procedure.

Pinnacle Series LMS includes workflows that can be customized to fit the standards of your organization so that every employee can easily find and follow your processes.

4. Build a Shared Source of Knowledge Within Your Organization.

Custom workflows not only help standardize your processes, they also help to centralize the experience of your most qualified employees. When crucial information about how to accomplish a task or the importance of following a certain step is centered in one person, that individual can become a bottleneck for others: their coworkers need their help to finish assignments, and their work is frequently interrupted as they stop to answer questions.

In Pinnacle Series, both workflows and the course content itself can be edited and customized to capture this internal knowledge. Translating their experience into shareable training relieves that worker while making their knowledge more accessible to their coworkers.

5. Maintain and Track Industry Qualifications.

Ongoing education is a regulatory requirement in some sectors, and where it isn’t, many employees want accessible ways to track their qualifications as a way of demonstrating their value to the company. Pinnacle Series helps your team see who has what qualifications and which team members are in need of additional training.

6. Shore up Gaps in Your Team with Skill Assessments.

Most businesses know they have skill gaps on their team—but identifying where they exist is more difficult. Our KnowledgeSmart skill assessment tool helps businesses find those skill gaps both within their current workforce and during their interview and hiring process. KnowledgeSmart can then start employees on a learning path designed to fill those skill gaps so that businesses can move forward with a more qualified and flexible team.

Generic LMS Solutions Can’t Meet the Niche Needs of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing Industries.

If you’re considering an LMS solution for your company, bring your end-years and their managers into the conversation. A BIM or CAD manager can offer insight into what will be most attractive to their team, and by gaining their buy-in early, you are more likely to convert them into champions when you roll out the new LMS. And if you’re a BIM or CAD manager yourself, schedule some one-on-ones with your team to hear firsthand what their current process is for finding answers when they are stumped on a problem.

If nothing else, the insights from your team might help you exclude some contenders that aren’t specialized enough for your industry. And in doing so, you might find that your final decision is a lot easier to come by after all.

Want to make your choice even easier? Talk to one of our representatives. We can walk you through our features, answer all your questions, and show how our team can support the success of your training initiative. Request a demo today.

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