Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a civil drafter and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A civil drafter creates drawings and maps for various civil projects either manually by use of drafting devices or using a computer application. He/she civil drafters work in collaboration with other professionals for construction projects.

The drafter has specific duties such as creating drawings for different projects on request. They also develop relief and topographical maps to assist the engineers and construction workers in the implementation of the projects and is also responsible for providing visual guidelines to the engineers through their drawings. They may also provide insights into the selection of materials, designs, and processes. Lastly, they explain concepts to the construction workers using detailed drawings.

Core Skills Required to be a Civil Drafter

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A civil drafter should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Listening Skills:

Listening Skills are a practical ability to accurately receive and interpret messages you receive during the communication process to ensure flow and accuracy are maintained.

A Civil Drafter ought to have outstanding listening skills that lead to a better understanding at the workplace between the management and the staff, customer satisfaction in return yielding greater productivity with fewer mistakes and increased sharing of information in a more creative and innovative way.

Collaborating with others:

Collaborating is willingly working with one another and cooperating in whatever task one is assigned without behaving poorly or having an attitude change that hurts others.

A Civil Drafter is meant to collaborate with all workers and management both male and female without causing frustrations or sidelining any worker or delaying their promotion from any informal conversations where most decisions are often made.

Facilitation:

Facilitation is making tasks or life easy for others while ensuring the daily running of successful meetings or workshops or business at large.

A Civil Drafter must use facilitation to process and structure a system that meets the needs of either an individual or a team to help them achieve their goals as well as add value to their lives by making sure each participates.

Dealing with Difficult People:

Dealing with Difficult People is learning how to tactfully calm down an obnoxious person who is either verbally attacking you or stealthily criticizing you or your professional contribution.

A Civil Drafter must learn how to combat and tone the demanding customers or staff who are competing for power, privilege or spotlight which defy logic not with fights but with the truth and more listening skills as well as lots of patience.

Networking:

Networking is the process that encourages an exchange of information and ideas among individuals or groups that share the same interests.

A Civil Drafter is required to establish policies and procedures that govern networking to form professional relationships that will boost the future of business and employment prospects while maintaining regular contact with each other to gain each other's trust thus developing few quality relationships.

Appraisal and Evaluation Skills:

Appraisal and Evaluation Skills are services that allow employers to assess their employees? contributions to the organization for the period they have been working with them.

A Civil Drafter must creatively develop a robust evaluation process that includes the standard evaluation form, approved performance measures, guidelines for presenting feedback and disciplinary procedures to promote staff recognition and rewarding following a fair assessment and appraisal process.

Appearance and Grooming:

Appearance and Grooming are the way one presents themselves in a professional environment or the workplace with the aim of gaining positive impression and respect as well.

A Civil Drafter must be an example in proper grooming and professional appearance while ensuring all the workmates adhere to the basic guidelines presented for good grooming in the workplace that represents the company wherever they go.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity:

Equal Opportunity and Diversity means having employees from a wide range of background that includes different ages, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief, educational background, physical ability and treating them equally.

A Civil Drafter is required by the law to create a workplace free from discrimination and harassment to its employees as well as understand and adhere to the rights and responsibilities under the human rights and antidiscrimination law.

Role Awareness:

Role Awareness is the ability to be informed of your role in a given environment as well as understand the expectations placed on a position and to see how they are met apparently.

A Civil Drafter must assess, measure and quantify his employee's awareness of their roles to see if they are transparent about what is required of each of them and review what kind of results they are delivering from their understanding.

Business Trend Awareness:

Business Trend Awareness is the capacity to be conscious of the changing ways in which the companies are developing in the marketplace.

A Civil Drafter should have the required knowledge of new business trends that he can instigate or follow and the understanding of how they are impacting the business decisions which will eventually bring success to the employees as well as the enterprise

Hard Skills Required to be a Civil Drafter

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A civil drafter should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Civil Drafter: Hard skills list

Analyze Survey Reports, Maps, and Data to Plan Projects
Assess Environmental Impact and Risks
Assemble Project Deliverables
Assist With Staging, Testing, and Shipping of Equipment Prior to Deployment
AutoCAD
Communication
Compile and Submit Permit Applications to Local, State, and Federal Agencies
Create Blueprints Using CAD (Computer Aided Design)
Critical Thinking
Decision Making
Design Public Work Projects
Develop Designs, Layouts, and Design Calculations
Develop Project Scope and Timeline
Ensure Job Sites Meet Legal Guidelines, and Health and Safety Requirements
Experience with Civil 3D
Experience with Microstation
Experience with Reinforced Concrete and Steel Design
Experience with On-Site Construction Observation and Management
Highly Detail Oriented
High Level of Analytical Thinking
Identify Possible Design Improvements
Leadership
Listening
Manage and Monitor Each Stage of Project
Manage the Repair and Maintenance of Public and Private Infrastructures
Map Reading
Mathematics
Organizational Skills
Perform or Oversee Soil Testing
Perform or Oversee Surveying Operations
Physics
Prepare Designs and Estimates
Prepare Conclusion and Analysis Reports
Present Environmental Impact Statements to the Public
Proactive and Willing to Take on New Challenges
Project Management
Provide Cost Estimates for Materials, Equipment, and/or Labor
Recommend Modifications for Design Improvements and Simplification
Sound Knowledge of Engineering Fundamentals
Technical Skills
Technical Writing
Test Building Materials
Understand and Design Within AASHTO Guidelines
Understand Diagrams, Drafts, Flow-Charts, and Other Information and Documentation
Use Software to Design Within Industry and Government Standards
Work Effectively Under Pressure

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