Young engineers Recession

Being made redundant has left Robert Hedges with the ‘fear’.

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diversified because of the recession, covering areas such as marketing and software development. Robert Hedges, mechanical engineer at NPS

North East Ltd, was made redundant early last year – something he describes as an ‘unpleasant experience’. At the time, Hedges was in a recently-opened satellite office that closed as a result of the economic decline. The M&E design team was disbanded. ‘I was one of the lucky ones who managed to secure

I took a

reduction in basic pay and now have to travel almost 100 miles a day to get to work and back –

Robert Hedges

a position relatively quickly; I took a reduction in basic pay and now have to travel almost 100 miles a day to get to work and back, but at least I’m in employment. I do feel very lucky to be where I am and, although I can say that I feel very secure, the fear of redundancy is always at the back of my mind.’ One of the most common responses from prospective

employers turning down job applications, according to Hedges, was a lack of professional working experience – something that is hard to germinate when you’re new to the profession. ‘My personal concern for the industry is a lack of investment at a junior, trainee and graduate level, as this will almost certainly cause a huge skills void for years to come,’ says Hedges. ‘For most employers, experience is the most valuable attribute for any potential candidate – however, without companies employing at these levels, how can candidates be expected to gain any experience?’ Jerome Salmon, senior engineer at A&G Partnership,

who helped to start the London YEN centre with Norton, was another of the unlucky ones. He describes the time he was made redundant in February 2009 as his ‘dark period’ in building services. ‘It was horrible. I was working at Scott Wilson for about a year when the market suddenly changed, and all the projects I was working on seemed to be shelved.’ Salmon’s options were to either move to Manchester

or Glasgow – or lose his job. So he opted for redundancy. ‘I was hoping that the market wasn’t that bad.’ But, after sending out numerous CVs, nothing materialised. In the end, Salmon was out of work for about eight months, not able to find another post again

44

CIBSE Journal May 2010

Building services appealed to Alex MacGregor because of the opportunities it presented.

until October last year. ‘When you’re made redundant, there’s nothing in life to motivate you any more and you start questioning your ability as an engineer. Now I’m back on my feet I’m thinking the industry hasn’t changed at all – it’s all work, work, work! But it makes you work even harder because you know what sort of climate is out there.’ Salmon now feels like he is progressing well, and

in his new role he is able to experience new areas, such as public health. ‘I think that, although there’s a recession, it shouldn’t change your aspiration to get where you want.’ However, he accepts that it’s probably harder now

because companies will likely try to refrain from promoting people because of the financial implications. ‘That’s the only limitation in the background now,’ he adds. ‘My ultimate goal, to be part of senior management or to manage my own practice, hasn’t gone away – it’s just been put on hold.’ But the fear of being made redundant never leaves

him: ‘Every day I come to work – even though I’m 110 per cent into making the most of what’s here – and I’m now trying to squirrel some money away in case the industry is forced back into recession.’ Despite this being an uncertain time, Hedges is confident it is still a very exciting time to be a building services engineer. He concludes: ‘Understanding how energy and low carbon technology can be utilised has become essential in modern building design and a crucial factor in the evolution of the building services engineer. I anticipate buildings services engineers whole-heartedly embracing their leading role in the industry and moving to the forefront of the energy revolution.’ l

The closing date for entries to the CIBSE Undergraduate Award 2010, sponsored by Hays, is 31 July. It is open to all those in the final year of their BSc, BEng, MEng or MSc. First prize is £500, runner-up gets £100. To find out more visit

www.cibseyoungmembers.co.uk/news/awards

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