Should Architectural teams have in-house Revit trainers?

Here at Niyaa, training and L&D is the cornerstone of our business, this isn’t just a statement but now means 90% of our team and 100% of our senior management are home-grown talent. So much so, that in 2018 we created the role of Internal Talent Manager. Should Architectural teams be considering hiring Revit Trainers as well?   

Carla is one of our specialist Architectural recruiters and as the conversation continues surrounding the amount of professionals who are proficiently using Revit vs the demand for these staff in Architectural teams, Carla may just have the solution. 

Written by Carla Baston – Architectural Recruiter

What's the problem?

Recently, it’s been coming up in different conversations with clients and candidates, how some professionals are using Revit wrong, how not enough people are qualified to use it, or that some practices are not offering enough support to learn new Revit skills.

Whether we like it or not, Revit is the “hot” software that everyone is aiming to use at the moment and most practices that I work with are looking for those “5 year minimum Revit experience” candidates, which in itself, doesn’t actually mean anything when the software is not used right.

What's the solution?

I asked myself after all these conversations; What if organisations employed an Architectural Revit Trainer in-house, particularly for medium to large size practices? 

What if it wasn’t the BIM manager or Senior Architects/Technicians who had to provide the training? Would it be beneficial to hire a specialist to deal with all the software issues that come up on a daily basis as well as all the training development for new and existing staff.

When I mentioned this to my customers, the opinion was split into “What a fantastic idea” or “That would be a waste of money”. Here’s what I think:

What's the benefit?

Employing a Revit Support Specialist wouldn’t directly generate any fees, which could be seen as a loss for a small size practice. However, larger teams could benefit from this.

  • When a structured training and development is done by a specialist for everyone ( junior through to senior) a business can ensure a standard expectation level across the business
  • The same queries get asked again and again, taking up valuable time from employees which could be used towards specific deadlines. On the basis “time means money” this can be cost effective.
  • Not all Senior Architects or Technologists want to mentor or provide training, nor can everyone do this. A Trainer would ensure all staff get the proper time and support to further their career and technical ability.
  • There will be parts of the software that could be used wrong due to lack of knowledge or not being used to it’s full potential. This support role could keep up to date with everything to do with the development of the software to make sure staff are at the top of their game.
  • They are specialists and will be able to collaborate on live projects
  • What an amazing selling point for attracting and retaining talent!

Although a Revit Support specialist might not generate any viable fees, looking at the bigger picture, it clearly pays for itself.

A real life Revit Support Specialist?

"It's a completely false assumption that students leaving university now, are proficient in Revit. The Part 1 and Part 2 students I used to train, even this year, all confessed to being creative about their Revit skills when applying for jobs or having been self-taught via Youtube."

Carla is currently working with a professional who does just this. Based in Bristol, through his software learning and development, he has taken a team of 300 staff from AutoCAD over to Revit, delivered his own projects, communicated company standards and fixed all onsite issues for a large multi-disciplinary practice, ultimately saving the company time and money. 

Many industries are now investing in internal training, what are your thoughts on bringing in an Architectural Revit Trainer?



0121 790 0983
Carla@niyaapeople.co.uk
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31st July

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