Education/training
Blended education boosts successIn six short years, Larry Simonelli, a project manager/estimator in Ontario's construction industry, has amassed an incredible $200-million portfolio of completed and current projects. |
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 [ 2007-06-20 ] |
Project manager/estimator
"NOT WORK"
Currently with Belleview Construction & Management, a 50-employee firm based in Vaughan, Ont., Simonelli leads a team of four and oversees the development, pricing and cost control of a variety of industrial, commercial and institutional projects, including office buildings, warehouses and racetrack casinos.
He might work 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
"For me, work is not work, it's my passion. There's a lot of variety and I get to meet a lot of interesting people," says Simonelli, 29.
This Rexdale resident's impressive rise in his field was precipitated by a perfect blend of university education and college training that provided him with essential theoretical knowledge and a range of practical skills.
His father's background in construction eventually led Simonelli to Ryerson University, where he enrolled in its four-year bachelor of architectural science program. The pre-professional architecture program covers the combination of design and technological know-how architects require to create total environments from start to finish.
Specific areas of study in the program include: design principles, modeling and representation of space, selection and evaluation of building sites, structural principles, materials selection, architectural history and theory, good business and management practice, project development, building industry regulations and economics.
What Simonelli appreciated most about the program was the opportunity to choose a speciality in the last two years, among them was project management, which was his choice.
"The last two years, I loved everything I was learning. I had an interest in what they were teaching me and my marks reflected that -- they went up considerably from the first two years," he says.
Simonelli graduated in 2001 with a comprehensive base of knowledge about his profession, but a year before that, he was seeking a way to complement that knowledge with hands-on practical training. Having heard about the solid, skills-based training George Brown College offered in his field, he turned to its continuing education department and over the next four years, completed three certificate programs in Technology & Trades: Construction Project Management, Construction Estimating and Mechanical Estimating.
Simonelli soon found himself immersed in "real-world" training in courses such as: Overview of the Construction Industry, Construction Cost Control, Construction Planning and Scheduling and Mechanical Estimating I and II.
What impressed Simonelli was the opportunity to learn about the field first-hand from seasoned professionals.
"They really knew their stuff and were enthusiastic about the course material," Simonelli says. "It really affects the students when they know the teacher enjoys being there."
APPLY TRAINING
One year into his George Brown training, Simonelli began working in the industry, and found he was able to immediately apply both his university and college training to his daily work activities.
He credits George Brown for the thoroughly practical curriculum, which applied directly to his work situations.
Among the best parts of his Ryerson education, he says, was that its intensity prepared him for the even more hectic world of construction project management.
"I think the biggest thing Ryerson did was teach me how to work under very tight deadlines," he says. "Now that I'm in the business, where it's even more deadline driven, I have the discipline to work under pressure."
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