CHBA BC worked with the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) on the “Raising the Bar” discussion report for the residential construction industry, and helped Linden Holmen develop the 2006 National report on Recommended Education Benchmarks for Builders and Renovators. M.J. Whitemarsh has long championed the project to update the Registered Housing Professional (RHP) and Certified Residential Builder (CRB) programs to create a professional builder program that would meet or exceed national standards.

The goal of the CHBA BC Skills Department is to create a suite of eleven courses that meets the CHBA National Standards and HPO recommendations, while providing business and management skills to meet the provincial need for a higher standard of entry to the business of building homes. The final outcome could be an HPO recognized CHBA Master Builder designation that will be marketed throughout BC.

Builders who have taken the existing CRB and RHP programs don’t have to worry as the Master Builder designation will recognize prior learning in common areas. The majority of builders surveyed recently by the HPO wanted tougher licensing requirements and 72% want to see at least minimum education and training be a requirement for licensing. Builders showed a preference for practical skills training including Building Technology and Project Management among others.

The builders’ course development project will take place in two stages. Stage 1 will set up the process, develop the teams, update the first five programs and develop an online process for course registration, online payment and delivery of program modules.

The five programs are already in development and the first new courses will be delivered this September. The five programs to be updated are Building Technology/Built Green, Project Management and Site Supervision, Construction Law, Marketing and Sales for New Home Builders and Financial Management for Builders.

This fall we will start the second stage that will include six more courses and hopefully the role-out of an online database to simplify course scheduling and track clients’ progress as they work towards the Master Builder designation. Many of these six programs are either existing courses that require a more detailed update or new to our members. These programs include, Customer Service, Business Planning and Management, Human Resource and Management, Building Codes, Safe Work Practices and Communications.

CHBA BC’s program review and updating will be accomplished using teams of curriculum development professionals, industry experts and content specialists. All of the development will require strong industry participation to create programs that reflect the real needs of the province’s builders. We are calling for volunteers to provide input at the development meetings and to be available to the curriculum development teams for questions as they arise.

The next several years will see continued strong demand for BC’s residential construction sector. We need to be ready to provide professional development opportunities for our existing builders and those wanting to get into the industry. With the focus on continual improvement of our training programs we will raise the level of professionalism and set a high standard for entry into this important economic driver.

 

Please click here for background information on CHBA BC's Plan to "Raise the Bar"

 

CHBA BC would like to thank the following partners for their generous support:

Residential Construction Institute

CHBA BC

 

For more information, please download the following files:

Recommended National Education Benchmark for New Home Builders