Conventional technical education has been implemented within an apprenticeship system; however, the framework to support this system is now collapsing. Today, the technical education of plasterers is often implemented using training methods far removed from those of the conventional apprenticeship system.However, in Japan, the training of technicians has been left to subcontractors; this has resulted in a lack of consistency, and this approach is now in a state of neglect.In the West, vocational education is provided in schools, and technical training is implemented through collaboration between educational institutions and the corporate sector.The modern building industry is characterized by major advances in construction technology and the challenge of new building technologies. In view of this, there is a need to train top-class plasterers who are capable of adapting to a constantly changing work environment.Unlike other occupations, the work of plasterers can be divided into three categories, each with a unique work description and work methods.The work description of an advanced-level plasterer is to perform plastering work requiring advanced skills (that is, work that only a skilled craftsman or supervisor can handle), to work with clients and engineers to propose technical solutions and coordinate work processes, and to train, instruct, and guide young and subordinate workers.In order to perform these activities, advanced-level plasterers must have the management skills to provide appropriate and timely instruction, guidance, and proposals on-site. In September 2007, upon completion of a Kanto-area seminar, I conduced a questionnaire survey of participants.The seminar enabled participants to efficiently learn communication and leadership management skills through off-the-job training and brainstorming.This paper clarifies and presents one aspect of educational methods for training subcontractor technicians-a subject that has been somewhat neglected up to now.On the basis of these concepts, the first objective of this study is to raise specific issues in relation to vocational education and personnel development-the cultivation of plasterers to perform plaster work, one of the main kinds of subcontract work in Japanese construction projects-and to describe a method for training building-industry technicians that enables the acquisition of occupational ranks according to the individual's stage of skill development, in line with a model system (from hiring to the attainment of the highest technical qualification) for the current employment of plasterers). © Chinese Research Institute of Construction Management.
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