Grad profile: Richard Graumann (Civil Engineering Technology, 1978)
Just because you start out in an entry-level position doesn’t mean you can’t ascend to great heights.
For proof, look no further than Red River College grad Richard Graumann, who over the decades has worked his way from a job as a construction industry estimator to a senior management position at one of Canada’s leading construction management companies.
“Who would think you could go from being an estimator to being vice-president of a national organization?” says Graumann, a Civil Engineering Technology (CET) grad who’s now the Vice-President (Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario) for Canadian construction firm Stuart Olson Dominion.
“But in fact, at our company, we’ve got 12 VPs that represent different divisions, and of those 12 VPs, five of them came out of estimating.”
Graumann got his industry start working for his father — a local contractor — but enrolled in RRC’s CET program as a means of furthering his career in the field. He says the two-year program provided him with the skills required to make a quick transition to industry, and like many, he found work in Alberta’s building boom soon after graduation.
“Within days of sending out resumes I had three requests for interviews, so it was a good indication there was demand for my background and training,” he says. “Also, as it turned out, the employer I ended up working for had hired other students from Red River College, so they recognized the value of the program at that time.” Read More →