Foreseeable future civil engineering work in North America is heavily focussed upon sustainability, digitalisation and AI automation, driven by a 5-8 % growth in demand for civil engineers, particularly in regard to USA infrastructure projects backed by finance from federal government. Key factors in attempting to achieve targets will be:
All will be essential in replacing the expected shortfall in recruitment of qualified civil engineers and civil engineering surveyors such as those represented by our own institution.
If the necessary workforce does not materialise to fit stated and planned civil engineering progress we are in for a worsening of contract delays and related extensions.
Added to problems related to efforts in achieving forecast staff requirements will be the difficulty of recruiting/obtaining the necessary suitably trained construction workers in the field. As is already the case, such shortage of personnel and operatives will probably continue.
Such shortfall in necessary workers and professionals within the industry is causing contract delays and increasing risk.
It is relevant to note that efforts in increasing the workforce to counter current shortfall in experienced operatives is exacerbated by the fact that, resulting from the current workforce, some 40,000 ‘ageing’ operatives and professionals will reach retiring age by 2030 and replacement may come at a price.
The planned progamme will undoubtedly cause a leadership and labour gap. The situation is not helped by the current government policy tending to reduce the available workforce in an industry which heavily depends on as much as 30% of its operatives being ‘imported’. Such a situation is made worse by insufficient personnel entering the civil engineering industry through available existing degree courses suitable for industry requirements.
Thus, if the necessary workforce does not materialise to fit stated and planned civil engineering progress we are in for a worsening of contract delays and related extensions, despite the aspirational intentions of the civil engineering construction programme. I cannot foresee that the increase in incidence of AI will suitably close the gap caused by the shortfall over here.