The Future of Professional Engineers in the Public Service

The last two decades have not been kind to professional engineers in the public service. Numbers have been slashed, their status has declined and engineering advice does not carry the weight it once did. While it has been said that non-engineers do not appreciate the benefits of engineering advice, part of the reason for this is that engineers themselves and the engineering profession have taken a low-key approach to promoting the benefits of engineering advice. If engineers want to have a positive future in the public sector, this attitude needs to change. Engineers and the engineering profession need to be proactive in promoting the benefits of sound engineering advice, professional judgment and the skills of engineers. This paper suggests a number of ways of accomplishing these goals.