Construction Leaders Podcast

Episode: Building the Pipeline: Career Pathways in Construction Management

Date: February 1, 2026
Host: CMAA (Construction Management Association of America)
Guests:

• Carly Trout – Host (A)
• Evan Hendershot – Co-host (B)
• Jim Ostrom – Professor of Construction Management, Joliet Junior College (C)

Episode Overview

This episode explores pathways into the field of construction management (CM) and strategies for building and maintaining a strong talent pipeline in the industry. Through the firsthand experiences and insights of Jim Ostrom, the discussion investigates how students and career switchers discover and access CM careers, how industry and education can collaborate, and what industry professionals can do to contribute to workforce development.

Jim Ostrom shares his personal journey from hands-on work in the trades to academia, and offers practical advice for education providers, industry organizations, and individuals passionate about attracting and nurturing the next generation of construction managers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jim Ostrom's Career Path and Motivation to Teach

• Jim’s Unconventional Start:
  • Jim began in shop classes and worked at a material supplier during high school.
  • Insight: “I was not a great student as a young person, so I started out in shop classes like most people do in high school, ended up at the career center, built a couple homes there…” (01:22)
  • Learned about construction management at Purdue University Northwest via a job connection.
• Diverse Industry Experience:
  • Worked as estimator, superintendent, project manager, owner’s representative, and building inspector.
  • Jim’s unique background gives him a wide-ranging perspective in teaching: “Seen a lot of different perspectives throughout the industry and I think that’s what gives me some advantage in teaching is trying to help people find where they would best fit in the industry.” (03:37)
• Call to Give Back:
  • Motivated by a desire to help others discover CM as a rewarding career option.

2. Educating Young People About Construction Management

• The “When to Start” Question:
  • Jim urges earlier engagement: “The biggest thing is access and getting to them at a younger age when they’re forming their decision… If you can, like in the middle school years...” (04:15)
• Targeted Outreach:
  • Focus presentations on shop/career/technical classes rather than general classes.
  • Importance of real-life examples: “Give them some examples of students that have been successful, hopefully from their school. Right. If you’re lucky.” (06:12)
• Defining Construction Management Simply:
  • Jim’s analogy for kids: CM is everything except the skilled trades in the field – planners, coordinators, buyers, schedulers.
  • Memorable home DIY analogy: “How many times have you been in a project and you end up going to the hardware store... That’s because you’re inexperienced in it. Right... If every job ran as inefficiently as do it yourselfers would do, right, we would never get anything built.” (08:25)

3. Industry’s Role in Career Awareness

• Parental/Professional Guest Appearances:
  • Happens frequently but lacks coordination.
  • Key Issue: Messaging is often too narrow. “Are we getting the right people in front of the students to explain that the right way... to make it available to the most students?” (10:19)
• Vastness and Variety:
  • CM includes roles for various interests—field, office, technical, business—and communicating this diversity is essential.

4. Relationship with Skilled Trades and Career Pathways

• Trades and CM – Complementary and Competitive:
  • In union-dominated regions, students are split between apprenticeship programs and CM programs. Some students start in the trades before transitioning to CM, often as their interests or physical capacity evolves.
  • Partnerships exist; for example, reference letters from CM faculty help students enter union apprenticeships. (13:00)
  • Not all students can get into unions, so CM programs offer another pathway.
• Career Switchers:
  • “The ones that do switch over seem to be very successful, especially if they’re coming... from accounting and business, marketing, business kind of related things.” (14:52)
  • Transferable skills from other professions are valued; awareness remains a barrier.

5. Generational Shifts and Flexibility in the Profession

• Trends in Student Interest:
  • Slight uptick noticed, with younger generations valuing flexibility and meaningful work.
  • “The opportunity there for construction management is probably higher because we do move around, we get out of the office. We’re always doing something, building something new, something different.” (16:53)

6. What Professional Organizations Can Do

• Structured Outreach:
  • Jim praises the CMAA’s Construction Manager-in-Training (CMIT) program as a model—suggests a similarly methodical approach for youth outreach: “It would be great to create some kind of template to lay out how do we get young people into the industry...” (17:40)
  • Ideas:
    • Age-targeted brochures with approachable language and visuals
    • Coordination with local organizations and schools
    • Leverage digital media, e.g., TikTok and Instagram, to reach youth (21:08)
• Fast-Track Opportunity:
  • High school programs can allow students to earn college credits toward CM degrees, potentially entering the field soon after graduation. “12 months after high school, you could actually be in the profession with the right prep as a freshman.” (20:43)

7. Advice for Industry Professionals Wanting to Give Back

• Engaging as Educators:
  • Jim urges professionals to reach out to local colleges—and notes the need for more faculty with field expertise: “All we need is a handful of individuals willing to teach one class and we could actually create a whole certificate or a whole minor within that associate degree...” (22:22)
  • Flexibility is possible—adjuncts can rotate and commit to one class per year or less.
  • Encouragement: “If anyone’s willing to contribute, reach out to community college, I’m sure they’d love to hear from you and try to work something out...” (23:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Explaining CM to Kids:
  “Construction management is everything except those skilled people in the field. You’re in the field working with them. But you’re the ones buying the materials, getting the jobs, estimating, scheduling, making sure the right people are in the right places at the right time...”
  – Jim Ostrom (08:00)

• On Uncoordinated Outreach:
  “…it’s not real coordinated so we really don’t know how much it’s happening… are they doing it at a level that really communicates it really well?”
  – Jim Ostrom (10:05)

• On Fast-Tracking Careers:
  “12 months after high school, you could actually be in the profession with the right prep as a freshman. Laying this out for them is... exciting for people.”
  – Jim Ostrom (20:43)

• On Professional Involvement with Academia:
  “All we need is a handful of individuals willing to teach one class and we could actually create a whole certificate... It doesn’t have to be... burdensome or it takes you away from your other commitments.”
  – Jim Ostrom (22:34)

• On Marketing to the Next Generation:
  “Maybe it ends up being TikTok and Instagram kind of things explaining what construction management is to the younger folks. Cause that’s what they... are tuned into.”
  – Jim Ostrom (21:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jim Ostrom’s Introduction & Background: 01:12 – 04:01
• How and When to Educate Young People About CM: 04:01 – 06:23
• Explaining Construction Management Simply: 07:02 – 09:45
• Industry’s Role in Career Outreach: 09:45 – 11:22
• Relation to Skilled Trades & College Pathways: 11:22 – 14:22
• Career Switchers in CM: 14:22 – 16:00
• Generational Shifts/Changing Interest: 16:03 – 17:20
• How Professional Organizations Can Help: 17:20 – 21:24
• Advice for Industry Professionals Wanting to Teach: 22:03 – 24:36

Final Takeaways

• Early, targeted, and engaging outreach is critical for filling the construction management pipeline.
• The CM profession is broad and can appeal to a wide variety of interests and backgrounds.
• There’s untapped opportunity for industry professionals to contribute as educators—often on flexible terms—which can greatly expand the horizon and focus of educational programs.
• Coordinated, creative marketing and communication—across multiple platforms—can help CM career paths become as familiar and understood as those in engineering, architecture, or healthcare.
• Professional organizations have a key role in providing templates, materials, and structured pathways for outreach, as modeled by CMAA’s CMIT program.

For additional resources about getting started in construction management, visit cmaanet.org/cmit.