Demand builds as major projects come online

WANTED: Engineers

The demand for qualified civil engineers is set to take off as the Government's new infrastructure plan is implemented, says Tim Davin, director of policy for the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ).

Davin says polytechs and universities produce around 760 civil engineers annually at the Bachelor's degree (BE) level but an additional 260 will be needed each year.

"The Government commitment of infrastructure spend is in a number of areas, including transport, rail, electricity - at the lines company level, the national grid and generation - broadband and local government water and waste water," Davin says.

The Government's National Infrastructure Plan is a 20-year strategy to be updated every three years. Over the next five years, the Government is budgeting for $7.5 billion which, it says, will support thousands of jobs.

Civil engineers will be needed in all areas of infrastructure development. Even broadband will require engineers to co-ordinate the alignment of routes for underground cables.

"The situation is promising for civil engineers and all the other related disciplines," Davin says.

So, how could New Zealand find itself short of 260 engineers a year?

"There was a relatively low level of expenditure through the 1990s and early 2000s and therefore there weren't the jobs."

With the recession, commercial development and property development slowed which hit structural and civil engineers hard. But there are plenty of career opportunities with good pay coming soon. Davin does not believe the infrastructure spend-up will create an artificial bubble in the industry.

"Hopefully, this represents sustainable and continuing growth of our infrastructure which is an important contribution to growth in the economy."

Often engineers find satisfaction and sense of purpose in their careers. "I think that the appeal of engineering to many people is that it requires not just the design and creativity side but engineers enjoy overseeing the construction of their designs."

Early in their careers, civil engineers have hands-on experience managing the people who are constructing their structures. They work with a cross-section of society, from labourers to professional colleagues and need to be able to communicate on all levels. They are second only to doctors as the most trustworthy profession, according to IPENZ research. There is also a certain pride to be gleaned from completing projects.

"The most satisfying thing for engineering is that many engineers can look back at things they've been responsible for in the way of structures as opposed to reports. A high level of job satisfaction comes from that."

Beca executive director David Carter says it's that sense of accomplishment that keeps them going.

"I think that's one of the exciting things about the job; that you can actually get a breadth of experiences and you look back and see the tangible outcomes of your efforts," Carter says.

Beca is one of the largest employee-owned engineering companies in the Asia-Pacific and employs between 2400-2500 people. Carter has been with them for 20 years. His projects include the America's Cup Development, the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade, as well as several airport upgrades across the Pacific region.

"There's great pride when you fly out of Auckland airport and know that you were part of that or you're flying to Melbourne and you know you were part of it."

Beca already hires around 100 engineering graduates a year. Civil engineers comprise the largest specialty group in that. Graduates can expect to be out in the field on project sites from two to five days a week. Senior engineers still get out on site generally one day a week.

"It's very important to make sure that throughout your career, even when you get into a management position, that you retain an interest in projects and an involvement in them and keep improving your technical knowledge and expertise."

That knowledge and expertise will be required for some time to come as New Zealand begins these massive infrastructure upgrades.

"It's very difficult to find experienced civil engineers in the market in New Zealand."

Carter says the skill shortage is already affecting their business.

"In the infrastructure area, our ability to expand in the market or the portion of the market that we can take on is resource constrained. We're permanently on the lookout for civil engineers with five to 10 to 15 years' experience and right through to senior director level."

Having a heads-up from government that major infrastructure projects are on the way is allowing companies to gear up for it.

"I don't really perceive a problem with delivering. People will find a way because a clear vision has been given."

However, there will be a lag time before the industry begins significant hiring. Last year and this year have been hard years for graduates to find work because of the recession. But Carter says that will change in six to nine months.

To be a good civil engineer you not only have to have a good grasp of maths and science, but you also need the people skills to manage projects.

"In a lot of senses we see a lot of women being very successful in civil engineering and one of those reasons is because you've got to be good at time management and multitasking. Communication is such a strong part of it."

Engineering is a highly collaborative career. Engineers work in large but often tight-knit teams and being a team player is critical.

"It's that mixture of exciting projects and tangible evidence of what you've done and working in very big teams. It's hard to withdraw from because you miss that camaraderie probably as much as anything."

Graduates can expect from $47,500 to $52,500 depending on degrees and qualifications. For experienced engineers the range is from $65,000 to around $85,000.