A critical shift is needed in the procurement methods for affordable, sustainable housing in Australia to meet urgent demand. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) offers the potential to accelerate the building of quality, sustainable, affordable housing. A resilient, skilled workforce is paramount in support of this industry change. Building CRC 4.0, along with Monash University, Industry Partners, and Education Institutions, is working to identify the educational and skills gaps in MMC education in Australia. A proactive, rather than reactive, approach to addressing skills gaps is being addressed by multiple players in the MMC educational ecosystem.
Project #66, titled The Future of Construction Education, investigated the potential of a new MMC-focused bachelor’s degree through context benchmarking and content review. The research approach included the establishment of the background context and a gap analysis of the digital literacy and MMC education within the Australian construction industry. Research was carried out by stakeholder and market analysis, including conducting semi-structured interviews and holding industry partner forums. Global benchmarking included integrating international perspectives from courses and thought leaders. After identifying knowledge gaps in MMC and digital literacy at all education levels it is acknowledged that additional educational options are urgently needed.
A framework or network diagram was established to contextualise the system's complexity and pinpoint where new educational resources are required. It serves as a guide to the connections and pathways into and beyond a new bachelor’s degree that acts as a building block to establish new offerings along the educational pathway.
Developing educational opportunities in industrialisation and digital construction is critical to efficiently support the supply chain necessary to address the current housing affordability crisis. Establishing a network diagram provides a visual guide to understanding the complexity of the educational pathways for MMC educational program development in the Australian construction industry.