In Construction News recently, discussing the need for changing roles in the industry, Alex Gilbert, MD at Amey Consulting, made a worthy contribution in the ‘Expert Opinion’ section:
As an industry, we have critical missing data around what industry jobs will look like in future, who will we be employing and what skills we want people to have. Given the growth of automation and artificial intelligence, will we really need engineers in the future?
Whilst it is a very good article, highlighting potential concerns, we don’t entirely agree with the suggestion that engineering skills won’t be required for the majority of people working in the sector. We do need to be increasingly tech-savvy and business aware though and we need to get engineers much more competent in that respect.
We think future engineers need to have strong mathematical and engineering skills as well as strong IT and business skills. That way they have all the tools to push boundaries and meet the challenges of zero carbon, lower cost housing, climate change etc. There may be less of us as automation and AI become more prevalent but hopefully we are more competent and paid more!
Article source: Construction News – the UK’s leading source of construction industry news, market intelligence and forecast and trend data. A subscription to Construction News provides you with the latest industry news on what your competitors are doing, what your clients are looking for, and where the pipelines of work will be. You get detailed context and vital intelligence on what the industry trends and forecasts are in the regions and sectors that matter to your business, helping you ensure that you take advantage of the upturn in UK construction.