generation Bridging the gap


Engineering institutions seem to be stuck in an endless wrestling match over how to better engage with young engineers, says Ewen Rose


Professional bodies make it too diffi cult for young people to join and engage in their activities


to work on good projects and deliver sustainable solutions now. Young engineers are actually the natural


I


leaders of today as they have grown up in a much more collaborative environment and they are already steeped in the ‘culture’ of sustainability – they will, after all, have to live with the consequences of their design decisions for longer than their older colleagues. The baby boomer generation (born between


1946 and 1964) accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the current workforce, but many are approaching the end of their professional lives. The challenge for institutions is to engage the ‘millennial’ generation born during and after the 80s. Even the best way of communicating with


them can be problematic. We refer to the ‘Facebook generation’, but the defi nition of


20 CIBSE Journal November 2012


t is a cliché to talk about today’s talent being the leaders of tomorrow, but we still do it. The truth is that young engineers don’t see themselves that way. They want


‘young’ in engineering circles is under 35. There are hugely divergent patterns of social networking within age groups – from those who have just left school to those in their mid-30s, many of whom are married with young families.


Breaking down barriers Whatever method they use, young engineers expect to communicate immediately and continually. They are also more likely to seek dialogue with other young engineers, rather than with the ‘grey haired’ leaders of previous generations. Their generation of engineers is also far more diverse. Stephen Matthews, chief executive of CIBSE,


believes there has been a tendency in institutions to try to get young people to sit around a table to discuss things they don’t see as relevant. ‘We need to focus on our tone and allow


people to participate in an organisation in a way they feel comfortable with,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t suit them to use the old, grey man model of life – we just need to give them some


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