Creative Education
2012. Vol.3, Supplement, 154-157
Published Online December 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ce) DOI:10.4236/ce.2012.37B040
154
Thinking of Personnel Training Mode to Enhance the
Employment Competence of Civil Engineering
Ping Zhu, Lei Zhang
Department of civil engineering, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China
Received 2012
In this article, with the goal of improving civil engineering students’ employability and establishing the
"five-in-one" application-oriented talents cultivation mode of civil engineering specialty, We do the re-
search primarily from professional practice in education, career planning, job skills training, alumni re-
sources construction and enterprise feedback, in research at home and abroad on the basis of successful
experience and practice, combined with the current civil engineering students in our actual situation, ex-
isting advantages into full play and accumulate, and put forward the "five-in-one" new training mode.
Keywords: Five-in-one; Civil Engineering; Personnel Training; Mode
Introduction
Employment is the primary objective in students ' career de-
velopment, with the growth in the number of university gra-
duates, increasing employment pressures, only by continuously
improving the employment competitive ability of the students,
their professional orientation in the workplace will be found
quickly, and meet the position requirements soon, to make it
stand out in a competitive job market, grow as soon as possible.
This article by building a "five in one" application-oriented
talents cultivation mode of civil engineering specialty, achiev-
ing the goal of improving civil engineering students ' employa-
bility, freeing students from learning of non-autonomy, aca-
demic development of blindness and confusion of career de-
velopment. So that our students can clearly orient our career
life in the four-year study at the university , according to its own
characteristics of selected academic and career paths. It is on
the basis of single professional education, breaking original
model, establishing the "five-in-one" all-round personnel train-
ing mode.
Domestic and Foreign Research Stat us
In terms of Practical Education
Research in domestic and abroad recognized that engineering
education should return to the engineering practice. Practice
education is the basis for engineering education. We should
strengthen project-oriented training and practice-oriented
project, also we should implement in practice on the teaching.
Therefore, training courses throughout the curriculum play an
important role in the system.
In foreign universities, civil engineering professional educa-
tion target at professional and emphasized the development of
application-oriented talents. In the United Kingdom of all the
civil engineering colleges and universities, a considerable
number of engineering colleges is practicing the "sandwich"-
type curricula, that is the first、second、fourth year studying at
school, the third school year as engineering practices (as an
integral part of the teaching program)[1]. This scheme occupies
fewer hours in classes, students have more free time, and it has
the characteristics of multiple channels. In Germany Universi-
ties of civil engineering, it attaches great importance to talent
cultivation of the ability to work independently, in practice
links, civil engineering students must come to the actual first
line of production practice of 13weeks, training content and
requirements are clearly defined. Germany's companies can
assume the receiving students practice tasks, as well as recruit-
ing new staff study[2]. France training model of higher engi-
neering education has similar features with Germany and other
European countries: students either learn scientific basis or
engineering technology, schools attach importance to work in
companies, and keep in touch with companie s [3].
Nowadays, many scholars in China on the teaching reform of
engineering practice education project, optimizing, integrating
course content, course structure, strengthening the construction
of laboratory practice and training, with a view to improving
the practical ability of the students. Modular course construc-
tion in colleges and universities improve students ' computer
skills, such as CAD, Drawing, PKPM software, computer si-
mulation test system.
In Terms of Career Planning
In the teaching curriculum of civil engineering of Hong
Kong University of science and technology, the academic and
career development course as core curriculum, there are three
hours of counseling and study hours. At present, China also
attaches great importance to career planning of university edu-
cation; career planning has become a new mode of employment
guidance. Compared to China, early career planning education
abroad has been more mature. Especially in Germany, Singa-
pore and other developed countries, they began to focus on
employment ability of students from primary school training,
and guide students step by step to make their own career plan.
In recent years, the employment guidance in University de-
partments in the Mainland changed; it began to guide students
to make career planning. This kind of education, just introduced
into the junior college students. At the same time, human re-

P. ZHU, L. ZHANG
155
sources service providers began to involve in community col-
lege education, well-known entrepreneurs’ access to career
training in colleges and universities, through seminars, training,
testing, games to help students find their career objectives and
their implementation. Students need to have a career plan. A
reasonable career planning is the first step towards success. On
the first day of entering the university campus, students should
combine their personality, interests, expertise, values, and other
factors, according to the external environment, establishing his
career goals, taking advantage of a variety of favorable factors
in the social environment, having a purpose, a planned, strateg-
ic way to implement this objective. In the process of imple-
menting this objective, according to the changes in the external
environment and their interests and hobbies to continuously
adjust and eventually obtain a satisfactory result.
At present, China's College students in this direction is still
relatively weak, for many college students, they don't have a
sense of development planning; Many colleges and universities,
present a reasonable career planning for college students also
has no formal action, successful career planning is the key to
ensure the students ' ability to acquire employment factors.
Since 2005 United Kingdom Higher Education Quality Assur-
ance Agency (QAA) began to record graduate students’ results
through the process of file or personal development planning
(PDP). Personal development planning's primary goal is to
improve an individual's ability to understand what they learn,
and how to learn, and to review, plan and be responsible for
their own learning, students need to be able to reflect on their
achievements and provide proof, and realize that the capabili-
ties they developed is through curriculum and extra-curricular
activities. Fundamentally, only interested in the students ' per-
sonal development plan process, rather than the result of per-
sonal development planning, recruitment, personal planning's
role is to help job seekers to explain and articulate what they
know, what they can do and what they are doing. Developing
good moral character, role change can be completed as soon as
possible is also important duties and responsibilities of the uni-
versity.
In Terms of Job Skills Training
Affected by traditional "formal" education, there is a wide-
spread phenomenon of despising vocational training in colleges.
At present, many vocational colleges and universities attached
great importance to students ' vocational skills training, mainly
carried out with the dual certification requirements, taken of
students at school-oriented training so that students with pro-
fessional qualifications, obtain the appropriate professional
credentials.
In recent years, with education plays an important role in the
society, institutions have sprung up in all kinds of education
and training, training courses cover wide range of subjects ac-
cording to market needs. The number of participants in training
courses was in a rising trend, in which college students played
the main roles. Lacking of vocational education is the weak-
nesses of college students. In China the higher education is
degree-oriented education, focusing on basic theory and profes-
sional teaching, ignoring vocational education particularly
practical job skills training. However, out School of vocational
training filled this gap. Higher education is different from do-
mestic and abroad, they have very sound system of higher vo-
cational education. In developed countries such as Britain and
the United States, they typically use legislation to promote the
stable development of vocational education.
In the Development of Alumni Resources
Research indicates that in France more than 100 large enter-
prises, two-thirds leaders of the industrial enterprises are alum-
ni of the school. Higher mining school of Paris has proudly
claimed that the school founded 200 years, and they maintained
close cooperation with the mining industry of 200 years. Ob-
viously, University Alumni is a knowledge-intensive, informa-
tion-rich, strong social skills group, the group has a special
feeling to their schools, and it has significant resources. As the
president of Zhejiang University Pan Yunhe says "Alumni are
the most important achievement of the University ", it plays an
important role in the development of colleges and universities.
Alumni study in the United States and Europe has a long
history. The earliest Alumni research appeared in the 1930 in
United States, in 1979, pace pointed out that the Alumni lea-
dership research mainly focused on helping colleges and uni-
versities assess educational outcomes as well as understand the
feedback of college students ' employment situation. Today,
alumni research has been extended to many new fields. New
research on Alumni resources mainly includes the reform of
university alumni working way in order to better serve the
alumni. Relative to the history of alumni work abroad, our uni-
versity alumni is lagging.
In the Area of Enterprise Feedback
Civil engineering in United Kingdom attaches great impor-
tance to ties with the engineering sector and department of en-
gineering industry advisory committee. first, the celebrities
involved in the teaching of engineering management, involved
teaching programs, teaching reform and suggestions made;
Second is to invite members of the business community to
make lectures at any time, providing the latest information[4].
And they have series of teaching system and community re-
sources for protection; making sure that universities and enter-
prises can build a win-win.
In recent years, as the change of China's economic system
and the reform of the education system, University of engi-
neering try their best to establish the close relationship with
industrial enterprises. But, in General, contacting and coopera-
tion between the two sides is not strong enough. Universities
are not open to industrial enterprises; enterprises are not really
relying on universities.
In developed countries such as Britain and the United States,
they are running a market-oriented system, taking the road of
enterprise at the University. Through the cooperation with in-
dustry and enterprise, colleges cultivate students with know-
ledge and skills.
To Enhance the Employability of Civil
Engineering Talents Cultivation Mode of
Thinking
Civil engineering is a major which require high quality of
employment, employment creation, employability development,
employment promotion, employment information. In order to
improve the quality of these five aspects, the main idea is as
follows Figure 1.

P. ZHU, L. ZHANG
156
Accumulation of Job Quality
To do a good job in professional practice education, the first
thing is to have a solid theoretical knowledge, and practice
education links allow students to use short term, subject re-
search, study tours and other forms of social practice to max-
imize exposure and understanding of civil engineering enter-
prises in the field of present situation, development trend and
occupational characteristics. After understanding the industry,
we can enable students to strengthen the awareness of profes-
sional, so as to raise interest and initiative of professional
learning.
The basic idea is: the key of enrolment is focusing on profes-
sional course; first-year focuses on short term practical educa-
tion; second-year focuses on scientific research; third-year fo-
cuses on production practices; fourth-year focuses on gradua-
tion design (thesis). Graduation design (thesis) is the only step
that students can have the chance to discuss with tutors face on
face and finish a paper by their own.
Professional practice is the important work in four years
study, how to grasp the different stages is very helpful to the
growth of students.
Set of Employment
Career planning education for students of any subject is cru-
cial, because human personality determines the type of work
which he is good at, it helps students finding the right type of
work and it is very important to their future development. For
the students in civil engineering, requirements are different for
different types of practitioners. If students do not fully under-
stand the needs of this industry and talent requirements and feel
free to make decisions, it is easy to make a wrong decision and
make their career path is not very smooth.
The basic idea is: taking colleges in Hong Kong as reference,
they have “practice of the academic and professional develop-
ment” courses in colleges and universities, these courses link to
the course of an introduction to the subject, new students in the
colleges can gain the knowledge of career life planning. Stu-
dents in civil engineering department should choose their spe-
cialty in the second-year. After selecting a specialty, students
should well plan their career life.
Employment Promotion
The feedbacks from graduates in recent years, current gra-
duates are faced with embarrassed situation, they are worse
than people who have master or doctor degrees in doing re-
search, and they are not skillful compared with vocational
graduates. It is the important problem for colleges and universi-
ties to resolve.
The basic envisaged is: drawing on the experience of abroad
university professional skills training and high vocational col-
lege vocational education, on the base of current five member
training, perfecting training system, and setting up budgeter
training, and guiding students on participate in series training,
making reasonable time arrangements. Students can learn ex-
pertise while enhanced actual application ability, finally get
"passport".
Expansion of Employment Information
University Alumni is a knowledge-intensive, informa-
tion-rich, strong social skills group, the group has a special
feeling to their schools, and it has significant resources. As the
president of Zhejiang University Pan Yunhe says "Alumni are
the most important achievement of the Universi ty ", it plays an
important role in the development of colleges and universities.
With economic globalization and the deepening of the reform
of higher education, how to make the development and use of
Alumni resources and play good alumni in college students’
ideological and political work, expanding the school space,
promoting the role of educational innovations, and other work
is the important task of management work of colleges and uni-
versities.
Figure 1.
Personnel training mode to enhance the employment competence of civil engineering.

P. ZHU, L. ZHANG
157
The basic idea is: by interviewing students who graduated
from1999-2006, building Alumni Resource Library, and doing
survey in graduates in civil engineering. This summer has com-
pleted the first step, despite we face many difficulties and ob-
stacles, but we also got many achievements and obtained much
valuable information. If this work continues, we try to perfect
the network of Alumni resources; we will have a better Alumni
resources system. At the same time, employment opportunities
provided by the Alumni will have a great effect.
Improving the Quality of Employment
Enterprise is an advanced technology platform, and also it is
the place of professional resource. If first-hand information
obtained from the enterprises on time, it is very important for
both teaching and research. And they have series of teaching
system and community resources for protection; making sure
that universities and enterprises can build a win-win.
The basic idea is: using the way foreign colleges and univer-
sities do, firstly, inviting the celebrities in Engineering Advi-
sory Board to teach engineering management, involved in
teaching programs, teaching reform and suggestions made;
Secondly, inviting experts in the field of civil engineering have
lectures at any time, providing the latest information; thirdly,
building enterprise resource information database, recom-
mending civil engineering graduates to the enterprise. It can
improve the quality of students’ employment.
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