Construction professionals that are committed to their craft and have a desire for career advancement can find many opportunities to set themselves apart from other professionals.

One of the best ways to separate yourself is to obtain a construction management certification. This certification shows your current employer or a future employer that you have a core competency and are ready to contribute meaningfully to the construction industry.

After obtaining certification, you will be well-positioned for a promotion, greater responsibility supporting the completion of construction works, and salary growth as a construction manager.

However, not every professional has the ideal foundation of construction skills and knowledge to become certified and qualify for a promotion. You need to assess whether you have obtained the necessary experience and understanding to support your desire for career advancement in the management of construction projects.

Are You Well-Versed in These Construction Areas?

Certification is designed to recognize the experience of a construction professional who meets certain criteria and standards. It is ongoing proof of your commitment to ethics and professionalism, and it is something that is maintained throughout your career.

For construction professionals that are looking to verify their ability to manage construction works on the path to a promotion, we recommend that constructors are proficient in the following 10 areas.

1. Communication Skills. This area includes oral communication, written correspondence, producing construction reports, and participating in construction meetings.

2. Engineering Concepts. This area includes engineering material properties, soil mechanics, mechanics and strength of materials, air and fluid mechanics, and electricity.

3. Management Concepts. This area includes business ethics, contract types, contract delivery methods, business entities, accounting and financial ratios, and management systems.

4. Materials, Methods, and Project Modeling. This area includes visualizations of construction equipment, specifications, and construction drawings.

5. Bidding and Estimating. This area includes procurement, understanding the bidding process, estimates, and quantity takeoff.

6. Cost Situations. This area includes budgeting, cost control, and finalizing costs.

7. Planning and Scheduling. This area includes process and planning, scheduling controls, scheduling calculations, and schedule analysis.

8. Construction Safety. This area includes OSHA administration, construction safety procedures, and interpretation of safety standards.

9. Construction Geomatics. This area includes an understanding of survey equipment, topography surveys, and calculations.

10. Project Administration. This area includes the procurement of resources, understanding of duties and responsibilities, job site mobilization, performing a project closeout, and how to support sustainability.

At AIC, we have developed a rigorous certification program that validates whether a constructor has obtained the necessary skills, experience, and knowledge in each of these areas to manage the complex process of construction. We encourage you to learn more about how this works.

Apply for Our Construction Management Certification Exam

The AC (Associate Constructor) Level I certification offered by our organization is designed for construction professionals that have obtained at least four years of qualifying experience in the construction industry. (You could also sit for the exam if you have completed a 4-year Construction Management degree program from an accredited college or university.)

You will need to apply for the exam, meet our qualifying requirements to ensure that you have the appropriate level of experience or knowledge, and then receive approval to take the exam, which we offer each spring and fall season.

The AC exam consists of 300 multiple choice questions covering each of the 10 sections we identified. If you pass the exam, then you will be conferred as an Associate Constructor and receive your construction management certification.

– To help you prepare for the exam, we encourage you to take our AC Level I Online Study Course. This self-guided, pre-exam study will walk you through each of the 10 sections covered in the exam.

The course will reveal where you are strong, where you need to advance your knowledge before taking the exam, and help you prepare for success on exam day.

Note: the AC Level I Certification is now the CAC Level I Certification, as of November 2022.

Benefits of Being Certified Through AIC

Since 1971, we have promoted individual professionalism and excellence in construction. Our certification program is widely recognized throughout the construction industry. Receiving certification through AIC will create tremendous value for you as a construction professional:

• Receive formal recognition of your skills and knowledge as a constructor.
• Position you for a promotion and career advancement.
• Help you increase confidence with your employer, the client, and the public.
• Provide you with a clear plan for professional development and growth.

Constructors who have earned the AC certification bring value to any project, as they have verified they have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the management of construction works.

If you believe that you qualify to receive a construction management certification, then apply today for our AC Level I exam. We look forward to supporting you on your career path.