August 5, 2009

Recruitment

Engineering Association take message on the road

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Canada is spearheading a cross-country tour of university campuses this fall, part of a campaign to attract “the brightest and the best” young engineers.

Organized in collaboration with ACEC’s member organizations, the tour will include classroom presentations to engineering students as well as participation in career fairs and student conferences.

The first event will be held at the University of New Brunswick in early September.

The tour is part of a student outreach initiative undertaken by a task force chaired by Vancouver consulting engineer Chris Newcomb.

The task force has been working on development of a bilingual website for its “Engineering Legacies” campaign, as well as web-based video modules and promotional materials.

“We are working to finalize all of the details with respect to the communications tools — the website, the promotional materials, a booth and speaking notes,” said Susie Grynol, ACEC’s director of public affairs and business practices.

“We are looking to put together a package for the member organizations to incorporate into their existing student outreach efforts. The intent is to attract the brightest and the best graduates to our industry.”

The video modules focus on such themes as making the planet more sustainable, transforming communities in Canada and abroad, leaving a legacy for future generations and tackling the planet’s toughest challenges.

Newcomb, president of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., said the campaign is vital over the long-term.

It is a result of increasing competition for engineering graduates from other sectors such as government and construction, as well as an upswing in outsourcing of engineering work to the private sector.

“We have to raise our game in terms of increasing our capacity and capabilities,” Newcomb said.

“We need to be hiring more engineering graduates and making sure those graduates are the cream of the crop.”

Newcomb said the initiative is intended to be an ongoing one “that we hope will be refreshed and added to as time goes by.”

In Ontario, a trailer has been previewed at some select engineering student events, including the annual meeting of the Engineering Students Societies’ Council of Ontario.

“You can literally see the light bulbs go off when they see the video,” said John Gamble, president of Consulting Engineers of Ontario.

“It makes them aware not only of consulting engineering as an industry, but also the range of interesting and value-added careers that are available.”

He said his association is mindful of the fact that not all of these students will become consulting engineers.

Some ultimately could become clients of the consulting engineering industry, regulators or other decision-makers.

“It is important that they are informed and knowledgeable about our industry.”

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