A diploma in Civil Engineering is a course that equips the learner with skills to work in civil construction works. Students learn how to design, construct, manage, and understand what happens in a civil construction site. The course is related to Building and construction. Both civil and building diploma module 1 students study the same units.
In Kenya, it is offered at both universities and TVET institutions. Universities have the autonomy to decide what to include in the course. However, TVET uses a common syllabus produced by KICD and examined by KNEC. In this article, we concentrate on the Diploma in Civil Engineering for the KNEC syllabus.
By the end of this Diploma in Civil Engineering, the trainee is expected to be able to do the following.
Being a Diploma course those who wish to join the course in any TVET institution will require a minimum KCSE grade of C-. There is no cluster subject required. However, since it is an engineering course, it will require good mathematics and physics knowledge.
Those who have done a Craft certificate in Civil Engineering and passed can proceed to a diploma level. Depending on your performance at the craft level you can request KNEC to exempt you from some units. When exempted you will be admitted to module 2 of the diploma instead of module 1.
For the diploma KNEC program, the course is divided into 3 modules/levels which are supposed to take 3 years. The student does the unit in each module and does the KNEC exam for those specific units before preceding to the next level.
If you fail 3 units among all your units per module, KNEC considers it as FAIL and you have to repeat all units in that module. When you fail 1 or 2 units you are allowed to proceed to the next level but you must repeat the failed unit and pass before you are Certified by KNEC.
For a Diploma in Civil engineering, the following are the units that you are required to cover to be certified.
For common courses that are not core units, the KNEC exam is combined as one paper.
After module 1 students are expected to go for an industrial attachment which is a requirement of the course. Students can be attached to any industry or area that deals with civil or building-related construction. This can include roads, houses, bridges, and any other construction sites.
After completing the course you will have enough knowledge of construction site management to manage a site.
With a diploma in civil engineering, you can progress to a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. You can specialize in areas such as
Some universities in Kenya offer civil engineering degrees. As you pursue the degree, please check if the university you choose is accredited to offer civil engineering courses. If the university is not accredited for the course it will be hard to get engineering board approval to practice as an engineer.
To practice engineering in Kenya you will be required to be certified by the Kenya Engineering Board. This is the body that is tasked with ensuring registering all engineers. It ensures that they follow all guidelines when constructing or carrying out any engineering task.
With a Diploma in Civil Engineering, you can be employed as a Civil engineer technician in building and construction companies. The work-related tasks will include
If employment is not for you, then you can start your own construction consulting company. This may take time since many people want to work with reputable companies that have vast experience.
However, in the meantime, you can start small by designing structures using CAD software and selling them. You can do structure cost estimation and a survey among other skills learned in the course to earn a living even without formal employment.
For a diploma in civil you require a minimum of C- in KSCE. However, some institutions may have cluster subjects requiring mathematics and physical sciences.
Some of the main units covered in civil engineering courses are structures, surveys, general building construction, material estimation, concrete technology, geo-technology, and CAD among others.
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