A recent report from New Civil Engineer, says that
"almost half [of respondents to a poll] had seen demand for their services
rise." According to the civil engineering on-line news provider, even
though the figures showed a fifth of contractors were less busy in the second
quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, the industry on
the whole was experiencing an increased demand for civil engineering services.
This quarter marks the ninth consecutive quarter of growth.
Need for new homes
It appears that the growth this year was linked to the
private housing, commercial and infrastructure sectors, with England leading,
followed by Scotland and then Wales.
Gemma Design can concur that indeed there has been an
increased requirement for the services of civil engineers. Projects such as
Greenfields Extra Care, Tenison Road, Cintradel and Anstey Hall Barns have
provided interesting and at times, challenging engineering projects.
The growing confidence in the economic recovery has resulted
in an increased number of enquiries across all sectors of the residential
market including residential care homes, affordable housing, developer led
schemes and bespoke houses for individual clients.
Civil engineering - an attractive industry
Gemma Design is committed to investing and training in new
technologies, such as SOFiSTik finite analysis software and have an ongoing
interest in the use of BIM. BIM will soon be compulsory for all publicly funded
works, meaning all civil engineering companies will soon be required to make
use of collaborative working using BIM, encompassing all the main stake holders
within a project.
The future of engineering is set to become more interesting
to the next generation of engineers with BIM and the new modelling and analysis
software packages that come along with it. And as the demand for new housing increases,
so will the demand for highly trained civil engineers.
Apprenticeships for future engineers
In order to satisfy the demand for new housing and the
associated infrastructures, the civil engineering industry must create new job
opportunities and training. A number of apprenticeship schemes have been
devised by large employers such as Balfour Beatty and Ibstock Brick. On offer
is vocational training to those who wish to earn while they learn, gaining
nationally recognised certification at the end of it.
It's not just employers that are championing
apprenticeships, the Government has shown their backing for the initiatives and
offered support to employers who want to take on young engineers in training.
The future looks bright
The Institute of Civil Engineers has a section of their
website dedicated to the next generation of civil engineers and offers advice
on A-Levels, apprenticeships and other qualifications. Civil engineering is an
industry that is not only dedicated to excellent standards and quality, but
ensuring those standards go on into the future.
For further reading about how the industry is developing,
apprenticeships and careers in civil engineering follow the links below.
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