Best Construction Classes in Philadelphia

What is Construction?

The construction industry covers a wide variety of organizations and roles involved in the planning, building, renovation, repair, and removal of human-made structures. Construction is often subdivided into several major types classified by the scope and use of the structures involved. Construction can also be classified by its primary building materials.

At its base, construction starts with individual building tasks like carpentry or masonry. For larger projects, these jobs are handled by subcontractors, organized by a general contractor and guided by one or more supervisors. Large construction firms require other roles: management, accounting, estimation, and bid preparation. Clients like real estate developers, government planning agencies, and building insurers are also part of the construction industry since they hire many construction-related workers: engineers, estimators, and inspectors in addition to contractors.

The starting point of construction, planning, involves designers like Architects, who create building plans per client requirements, alongside Drafters, Interior Designers, and Structural Engineers. Depending on a project's size, individual workers or entire firms may fill these design roles. Construction planning has been transformed by digital technologies like computer-aided design (CAD) that make building design clearer, faster, and more collaborative. With these tools, individuals and smaller businesses can now manage large, complex projects that once required big companies.

What Can You Do with Construction Training?

Construction training is necessary for any construction-related career. This training can also benefit people who want to build for themselves, whether building or renovating a home or creating a business. In addition to hands-on skills like carpentry or concrete, construction training includes general knowledge: reading building plans, purchasing materials and equipment, organizing tasks, observing safety habits, fixing errors, and evaluating completed work. Construction training also addresses considerations like licensing, insurance, and logistics. 

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Training for construction roles like management, estimating, and design emphasizes planning tasks and finishing steps like inspection and expense review, but these roles should also learn how construction labor is performed. Understanding construction work also benefits adjacent workers such as building inspectors, insurers, and real estate agents, who should know how buildings are made to describe them effectively and spot their flaws.

Last, construction training is useful for anyone who hires builders, including property owners, business owners, real estate developers, and civil servants. Learning more about construction helps these clients work with architects, engineers, contractors, and other building designers and construction workers. Given shared knowledge, they can more effectively communicate their needs, evaluate building plans, and monitor construction progress.

What Will I Learn in a Construction Class?

Due to the variety and complexity of building work, construction classes span many knowledge sets and skills. Classes can be general introductions or overviews, specialized skill training, or comprehensive courses for particular types of construction or construction careers. These considerations affect the topics covered by a particular class. Some common types of construction classes and their contents include:

• General Construction—overviews and universal skills 
• Types of construction—including residential, commercial, and industrial
• Materials—types, uses, and hazards of materials like wood, concrete, etc.
• Building stages—the phases of a building project, from excavation to cleanup
• Roles and tasks—what different construction workers do 
• Equipment—uses of tools and heavy machinery
• Blueprint reading—translating technical plans to understand planned structures
• Communication—terminology and collaboration for planning and on-site work
• Logistics—moving heavy objects, rigging, harnessing, and scaffolding
• Safety—practices and regulations, including protective equipment and OSHA standards

• Construction Planning—preliminary work like bidding, financing, and scheduling
• Management—hiring, scheduling, supervision, and problem-solving
• Estimation—calculating costs, presenting bids and budgets
• Overhead—requirements like licensing, insurance, transportation, and storage

• Building Design—creation of construction plans
• Drafting—skilled technical drawing of building plans and models
• Architecture—creation of fully detailed designs for construction
• Engineering—evaluating and designing the physical, functional, and environmental properties of structures
• Interior Design—design of internal building spaces

• Construction Software—programs that assist various construction tasks
• Computer-Aided Drafting and Design (CADD)—2D and 3D graphics programs that aid design and drafting
• Building Information Modeling (BIM)—digital modeling with full internal details and embedded information resources
• Construction estimation programs—systems that itemize a project’s requirements and assign prices to generate bids and budgets
• Scheduling and collaborative systems—systems that enumerate specific tasks, setting their sequence, durations, and work assignments

What Kinds of Training Options Are Available to Learn Construction?

In-person Training

Live, in-person classes have several advantages. Students meet with an instructor at a classroom or work site for scheduled sessions. While students need to complete readings and exercises off-site, they can discuss their work directly with an instructor and get immediate feedback. Many construction classes are necessarily in-person so that students can visit building sites, access equipment, and practice tasks. In-person training also allows students to practice collaborative work.

Live Online Training

Some construction topics, like design, planning, and management work, can be learned online. Live online training is most analogous to in-person instruction. While live online classes are still taught by a live instructor, students attend sessions remotely through videoconferencing. This format shares many of the same advantages as in-person attendance without requiring students to travel to a classroom. However, it requires that students have their own computer and internet access, install required software, and download supplemental study materials rather than receive preprinted copies. 

Self-directed Study

While live online study is more convenient than in-person classes, students must still adhere to a fixed class schedule that can conflict with working hours or other responsibilities. Other online options, called self-paced or asynchronous study, allow more flexible scheduling by trading the advantages of live instruction for the freedom provided by pre-recorded materials. Students can study these videos, texts, and interactive websites at their own pace, whenever they are available. 

Self-directed study is a type of self-paced study that retains some of the benefits of live instruction. Although students primarily view pre-recorded lessons, they have regular access to expert instructors who can provide additional explanations, answer questions, or review their classwork. These contacts are reached by video or text chat, phone, or email. Self-directed courses can also include private mentoring sessions and career support. Most self-directed courses use a time-blocked schedule to keep study organized and coordinate progress with instructors but still allow students the freedom to choose exact study times.

On-demand Study

Another kind of self-paced study, on-demand, gives students even greater freedom. On-demand students can access course materials at any time or in whatever order they prefer. Students can even skip familiar topics or add extra modules. On-demand schools may charge separately for each lesson, sell sets of lessons as packages, or allow unlimited access to all lessons for a subscription fee. These courses are the least expensive paid option but offer only limited contact with an instructor or mentor. Some schools host chats or message boards for discussion between students.

Choosing the Right Training Method for You

A student’s ideal learning format depends on their preferences and personal limitations. In-person training is usually the most effective format due to its extended, direct contact with an instructor. This face-to-face contact provides fast, clear, thorough feedback. Students can request alternate explanations, ask questions, and get critiques. Students can also work together without barriers, practicing communication and collaboration. For students with attentional, motivational, or sensory difficulties, physical presence can help them absorb more information and maintain focus. By contrast, online classes sometimes suffer from technical problems like poor audio and slow connections. Some students also lack computers and rely on physical classrooms for access to technology.

However, other students find in-person attendance difficult to manage or less beneficial. Anyone who cannot travel to a classroom site will need an online option. Even for those who can travel, time and expense can be prohibitive, especially if they have other responsibilities. Additionally, in-person training is limited to nearby schools and classes; online training provides more options. Finally, some students find classroom attendance uncomfortable or distracting and learn better online.

Live online classes share many of the advantages of in-person training, particularly the frequency and speed of instructor feedback. Self-paced classes lack this advantage, and some students’ progress is slower and less certain. On-demand study also challenges students to maintain their progress without the guidance of a fixed class schedule. Self-directed study reduces these disadvantages through regular check-ins with an instructor but still provides less feedback than live instruction. Both self-directed and on-demand courses also lack direct contact with other students. 

Still, for diligent, motivated students, self-paced courses can match live options and sometimes even finish faster. The chief advantage of self-paced classes is that students can study whenever they are available, avoiding conflicts with other demands. Self-paced study is also considerably less expensive than live instruction.

How Hard is It to Learn Construction?

The difficulty of learning construction depends on whether a student needs general knowledge and organizational skills, hands-on building skills, or professional training for various jobs. Novices can learn the concepts, methods, and considerations of general construction in a short introductory class. An introduction can also explain various construction jobs and guide students toward further coursework. However, most construction careers take extended training and practice before students qualify for employment. 

For general contracting or skilled trades, students learn through a combination of coursework and on-the-job training, often through an apprenticeship program. For hands-on construction roles, classroom time is typically short, especially relative to employability and income, which is part of these jobs’ appeal to workers. However, construction work still requires considerable learning; building correctly, efficiently, and safely requires well-ingrained knowledge and skills. Building students spend many hours, often involving strenuous labor, training both physical and mental abilities.

Construction management, planning, and design roles require less physical training and on-site experience but correspondingly more classroom study and project work. Architects need specialized classes in engineering, mathematics, and design, plus considerable study of construction methods and materials. Construction management and estimating start with a broad range of general construction knowledge — more information than is needed for any specific building trade — followed by lessons on bid creation and proposal submission, coordination of building tasks, and technical tools like CAD and cost estimation systems. Additionally, construction management students need experience in the construction industry, whether as builders or in support roles. 

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Construction?

First, construction involves a considerable amount of technical knowledge, including blueprint reading, tool use, measurement, and material selection and use. These topics require both abstract study and practical experience and can surprise novices with their breadth and complexity. Architecture, design, construction planning, and management have significant academic demands, as these tasks require good understanding of all aspects of construction: from separate building tasks to financial, legal, and communication needs. While software tools can ease some of the challenges of building design and planning, learning these tools also takes time and effort and includes some difficult technical concepts.

Safety measures are also a significant challenge for construction training. Trainees must demonstrate their complete familiarity with these procedures before they can be trusted on a job site. Next, construction is highly physical labor, and builders need to build and maintain their strength and endurance. Finally, no matter their role, all construction workers must communicate effectively; learning precise terminology and building effective habits can take some practice. 

How Long Does It Take to Learn Construction?

The length of construction training varies depending on the role(s) a student is learning. A general introduction, giving students a broad understanding of construction types, materials, tasks, and timelines, can be completed in a few full-day class sessions. This introductory study can be sufficient for jobs such as construction accounting or building loan preparation. For most construction careers, however, an introduction only grounds students’ knowledge and guides them toward other training. Those who want to understand construction well enough to hire and direct builders such as property owners, facilities managers, or developers, should take several more weeks’ worth of intermediate courses such as lessons on blueprint reading and building modeling software.

By comparison, construction management training requires multiple courses covering a broad range of topics. This study can take a year or more to complete. Accelerated programs can reduce this span to nine or ten months, but this is the minimum expected commitment to attain professional certification. Even after this study, construction managers will need a year or more of experience in subordinate roles before they are capable of heading a building project. 

Related construction planning careers like drafting and construction estimation need less academic study than management, but these careers do have some extended training requirements. Students can usually qualify for entry-level positions after three to four months of active study and practice, though employers often expect several more months of related experience, plus certification, before hiring a Drafter or Estimator.

Finally, among all construction careers, architecture and interior design demand the longest study and the most academic depth. Most Architects need a minimum of three to four years of initial study, either through a formal degree program or extended vocational course. Employers will also expect a lead architect to have another two years of graduate or advanced training plus two to three years of supervised internship. 

Can I Learn Construction for Free Online?

Free construction training resources are widely available from various providers. The easiest free tutorials to find are on social media platforms like YouTube. Many teachers, businesses, professional groups, tradespersons, and enthusiasts create and share video lessons on YouTube, including VDCI (as ‘VDCI cadteacher’). Video and text-based lessons are also available on the websites for industry groups like The Contractors Group, construction training schools like BuildWitt, related businesses like software developer Autodesk, and general training providers like Udemy and Coursera. 

These resources are convenient and avoid training costs. As such, they help with investigating construction topics and careers. They also provide guidance for experienced builders. However, free lessons have several drawbacks that limit their value for professional training. Instructional quality can vary widely, especially on social media, and free tutorials are usually not structured into a complete training program. Some websites limit their free tutorials, intending these as demonstrations of longer courses. Many free offerings are out-of-date, missing newer techniques and tools. Even on sites with reputable, well-curated content, free lessons lack an instructor’s guidance. Students will progress more slowly and with less certainty than in formal training. Finally, few free sources offer certificates of accomplishment or any career guidance.

What Should I Learn Alongside Construction?

No single construction training course, even a degree program, can cover every skill a student might need. Technical advances, for example, give construction workers improved materials, equipment, and software to learn. Most students also focus on their primary job skills, but related subjects can deepen their understanding and add abilities that improve their employment prospects. 

For example, students in a general construction course get less exposure to building design principles. A parallel course in architecture, interior design, or structural engineering helps them better understand these designers’ knowledge and reasoning. Similarly, courses in construction management or estimation teach builders more about the preparation that precedes on-site work, including bidding, hiring, training, and obtaining permits. 

In reverse, students learning about construction design or planning can benefit from a practical skills course such as drafting, heavy equipment operation, or trades like carpentry or masonry. These hands-on skills give planners and supervisors better appreciation for the techniques and challenges of construction. Building designers may also find classes on visual and graphic design useful, as the principles taught in these classes can lead to improved building designs.

All construction students should study software tools, including systems they will use regularly and related programs they might need for collaboration. For example, a drafting student will likely study one or more CAD programs, but they could also study BIM systems and construction management programs to expand their abilities and insights. Similarly, designers like architects may work largely with CAD, but learning BIM gives them powerful visualization and planning tools and makes their services more valuable. Further, students generally start with CAD or BIM programs focused on residential and commercial construction; exploring versions of these programs for industrial and civil construction can widen their talents, open new job prospects, and help them communicate better with other professionals.

Industries That Use Construction

The primary industry that uses construction training is general construction, a field that covers individual contractors, small building firms, and large construction companies. These builders contract with clients for construction or renovation projects, either providing labor directly or coordinating the work of subcontractors. Subcontractors include individual trades like carpentry as well as specialized building companies. Clients who regularly hire and oversee contractors and subcontractors can be considered construction industries, as well, particularly real estate developers and government agencies like city planning and transportation. Other industries “build” less directly but are still significantly involved in construction, including property insurers, building financiers, utility companies, and frequently expanding businesses like shippers. All of these industries need construction training to communicate with builders and evaluate their work. Finally, construction industries include the manufacturers, transporters, and sellers of building materials, tools, and heavy equipment. Employees in this supply chain need construction training to understand their customers’ needs.

Between clients and builders, another set of industries covers construction design and planning. Architects create building designs based on client needs, from prototype sketches down to the technical plans builders will use. Engineers and engineering firms collaborate with clients and builders and/or work with architects to address structural, functional, and environmental considerations. Interior design and landscaping create designs for interior and exterior spaces, respectively, and sometimes handle these aspects of construction directly, including finishing work like painting. 

Certain other construction planning jobs, including construction estimation and accounting, have become industries in their own right, especially for large, complex projects. Certain companies also serve as construction consultants and managers, being intermediaries between clients and contractors that help with design evaluation, bid review, hiring, and project coordination.

Construction Job Titles and Salaries

Construction, understood broadly, covers an enormous range of job titles, particularly when listing skilled trades like Carpenter, Mason, or Electrician. The income for these positions is similarly diverse, varying by market, specialty, and experience. Within general construction contractors, several titles are more common and easier to quantify. Construction Managers, for example, coordinate the planning and labor for a construction project. Construction Project Managers in the United States earn an average annual income of $94,000, which increases significantly with experience and company size. By comparison, general Construction Laborers and Helpers earn about $44,000 annually. Many construction companies, as well as client businesses like developers, employ Construction Estimators, who enumerate the requirements of planned construction and estimate their costs to devise bids and budgets. Construction Estimators in the US earn an average of $81,000 per year.

Construction design jobs require more intensive training but receive correspondingly higher income. Architects and Architectural Designers perform in-depth building design work, shaping each project’s aesthetic and functional properties and preparing its detailed plans. For Architects in the United States, across all specializations, duties, and experience levels, the average annual salary is $108,000; Architectural Designers average $71,000 per year. Interior Designers shape the appearance and usability of building interiors; in the US, these jobs earn an average annual income of $68,000.

Other construction design and planning jobs include Drafters, Surveyors, and Engineers. Drafters specialize in creating detailed construction models, drawings, and plans, and may work alongside other designers to implement their concepts. A Drafter in the United States earns an average of $70,000 annually. Some related positions specialize in drafting and modeling software like CAD and BIM systems. BIM Coordinators and BIM Managers, for example, create, modify, and manage BIMs not only for designers but also for clients and builders. Both positions earn an average income of $83,000 per year in the US. Surveyors, who earn an average annual income of $68,500 in the US, are engineers who measure and document building sites to inform construction planning. Construction-related engineering jobs cover a wide range of specialties, with Structural Engineers and Civil Engineers most common. Civil Engineers in the US earn an average annual income of $101,000.

Construction Classes Near Me

Visual Design and Construction Institute (VDCI) offers self-directed online classes on general construction skills and design software like 3D modeling, Computer-Assisted Drafting (CAD), and Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems. For each class, students complete one or more portfolio-quality projects, receive a certificate of completion, and can retake the course within 1 year. 

For students without construction experience, VDCI’s Construction Fundamentals Course Bundle provides a thorough introduction to the processes, systems, and materials of building construction using video lectures and active projects. This series of six units covers site surveying and foundation work, steel and concrete structures, the components of the building envelope (including walls, floors, and roofing), interior and finishing work, utility systems, fire protection, and final cleanup. The bundle also includes a one-hour, 1-on-1 mentoring session with an expert instructor.

Students new to construction estimation can learn its fundamental methods in VDCI’s Construction Estimator Course, a self-directed course including video lessons, practice exercises, training projects, and supplemental reference materials. The course assumes no prior experience and explains the primary skills of a Construction Estimator: reading construction drawings, translating plans into component lists, calculating component costs, and accounting for various other expenses.

Another set of self-directed VCDI courses explains how to read construction documents, often called blueprints. The Blueprint Reading Fundamentals Course Bundle includes courses on residential and commercial blueprints, combined at a discounted rate. This bundle can also be combined with the Construction Estimator Course as a Blueprint Reading & Construction Estimating Course Bundle.

Bucks County Community College in Philadelphia presents multiple self-paced online construction classes through its Career and Professional Development program, in partnership with Construction Experts, Inc. Novices can start with Introduction to Construction, a prerecorded seminar in four parts that explains the construction industry, the stages of a typical construction project, safety procedures and regulations, and management tasks like estimation and scheduling. This program is complemented by further classes on Essential Construction Math, Construction Blueprint Reading, Construction Materials and Processes, and Construction Equipment and Methods. Another series of classes starts with Introduction to Construction Estimating and continues through two classes on Estimating and Bidding. Sets of these classes can be combined into certificate programs such as the Certificate in Construction Processes or the Certificate in Construction Project Management. 

Near Philadelphia, Delaware County Community College hosts construction classes, primarily in-person with a few live online options. Their offerings comprise a full Building & Facility Maintenance Program covering carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and general construction skills. The full program takes three to four semesters, but its individual one-semester classes can be taken separately. These classes include subjects useful both for aspiring professionals and personal builders such as Basic Home Remodeling, Home Repairs 101, Basic Home Plumbing, and Construction Blueprint Reading. Each class meets once or twice a week for sessions ranging from three to six hours in length.

Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Technical Centers (EASCTC) is a technical training school with locations across six states, including Pennsylvania, with one training center located in Philadelphia. Here, students may take in-person classes covering a range of construction skills, not only carpentry but also welding, equipment operation, rigging and scaffolding, and construction safety. Most classes are short, from one to six sessions long, and offer evening and weekend hours. For example, Interior System Layout, a class that teaches building plan reading and assembly of interior structures, is taught over four-hour evening sessions.

Construction Corporate Training

For organizations that need construction training, VDCI can provide live onsite or online instruction. Live classes can be fully customized, with lessons tailored to your needs and projects matched to your typical work tasks. You can even use information from past or current construction projects. Class length and scheduling can also be modified as necessary. Alternatively, groups can purchase vouchers for VDCI’s existing public enrollment classes, with a discount for bulk purchases. You can then distribute these vouchers to members to register for selected classes per their availability. 

Contact partnerships@vdci.com for a free consultation to address your training needs, create a custom training plan, and discuss pricing, or to purchase bulk course vouchers.