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Become a pillar of the PSB community!04 September 2008Since Panel & Building Magazine burst onto the scene in the early 1990s, it has covered some rather controversial and debatable topics, to say the very least. With this comes a frequently loaded mailbox, with our readers adding their own thoughts and feelings on the various subject matters at hand. Undoubtedly, PSB has proven an ideal outlet for those in the panel building community to share and communicate their views with one another – but this has now been taken a step further with the introduction of The PSB Forum. Rather than having to wait several days – or indeed weeks – for responses to your comments and queries, you now have online access to instant feedback from your fellow professionals. To register (free of charge) for this valuable service, visit The PSB Forum today, where we shall look forward to hearing from you all. To stimulate discussion, this week’s commentary looks back at some of the themes that have stirred up a great deal of controversy to date. Needless to say, many of these age-old debates continue to rumble on with no apparent end in sight.
In today’s turbulent economic climate, one’s attentions are quickly diverted towards financial situations. Engineers, who have long questioned their fluctuating and unstable salary levels, have certainly been experiencing the pinch as of late. Whilst this often varied dependent on regional location in the UK, it has now become consistent across the board. This has unsurprisingly led to many disgruntled engineers finding themselves out-of-pocket.
Before the issue of remuneration is even considered, however, there is first the not-so-small matter of finding employment full-stop. With cash-struck companies looking to cut financial corners at every possible turn, there are on-site tasks (testing of electrical equipment, for instance) that are being mercilessly cut from the agenda. Deemed an unnecessary expense, many such companies are blissfully unaware of their legal responsibilities and health and safety requirements.
To pile on the misery, employment in the summer months usually ranges from being slow-paced (at best) to non-existent (2008). With many diaries devoid of bookings for upcoming months, industry professionals are becoming disillusioned at their prospects further down the line; that is, if they don’t ditch the job altogether and begin making pocket money elsewhere. The amount of time and money pumped in training these individuals for their respective careers should not be overlooked. To discover that the industry doesn’t thrive as it once did must be incredibly disheartening – and certainly not encouragement for youngsters considering pursuing such a career.
The recent graduates that do find themselves in employment are often subject to adverse working conditions. With their services being acquired at an inferior rate to their experienced counterparts, they are prime for exploitation. Don’t think that this has gone unnoticed by the graduates, however. Those that I’ve heard from in recent times complain of lengthy hours, believe that they are not being used to the best of their abilities, and feel undervalued by the employers overall. Additionally, wishes of taking time out to complete further training programmes, (thus enhancing their careers in the process) are often denied – leading to frustrated and unhappy graduates.
The government has also failed in its responsibility to encourage students into the engineering sector, if the outspoken majority are to be believed. There is certainly a case to suggest that little is done (by the government) to encourage students to pursue science-based subjects and/or careers, and this is directly reflected by the current skills shortage. Yes, the odd initiative to improve matters is proposed from time-to-time – probably a knee-jerk reaction to keep the critical at bay – but nothing substantial ever materialises. The schemes implemented to date have been rather ill conceived, and have not stood the test of time.
But with the government’s current attitude towards engineers in the UK, perhaps students wouldn’t favour such a career anyway. In the January 2008 issue of PSB, it was reported that an e-petition was submitted to the Prime Minister, with the aim being to protect the title ‘engineer’ so that only chartered engineers IMechE RaeS can be recognised as such. Despite receiving 35,000 signatories, no action has yet been taken.
Because of this, many professionals being asked to renew their IEng membership in recent times have passed up the option, believing that the title is worthless and no longer worth their while (by comparison to the still highly-regarded ‘CCE’ tag). If this continues, there could be major consequences. During a 2007 appearance on an IET webcast, Sir Robin Saxby claimed that it would take approximately 30 years for there to be a single unified professional Engineer qualification that would be recognised around the world. Until that time, who knows just what might happen.
This commentary has looked at some of the ‘hot topics’ covered in PSB in recent months, but this list is by no means exhaustive. If you have any thoughts on any of the above, or wish to discuss something completely different altogether, head over to The PSB Forum where the PSB community will be awaiting you. Contact Details and Archive...Most Viewed Articles... |
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