LOCAL ENGINEERS have been told to operate more as professionals or continue to be sidelined by foreign competition for work on Jamaica's infrastructure development projects, as well as emerging job opportunities overseas.
Minister of Transport and Works, Dr. Peter Phillips, during Engineers' Week 2000, advised the local players to streamline their businesses "to operate in a more professional context," as Government was not prepared to cushion the sector.
"While there is, obviously, some scope for a partnership between government and the local engineering fraternity, the days of protectionism are past.
"Sloppy and unprofessional practices, whether in the state bureaucracy, or in private enterprises, militate against the development of the appropriate efficiencies and, ultimately, our ability to compete effectively in the international marketplace," the Minister said in a release.
The opportunities for engineering jobs, locally and internationally, continue to emerge but the nature of their financing defines how such jobs are awarded.
In the Jamaican context, "international funding of so many of our projects...whether by multilateral agencies, or international banks, requires internationally competitive procurement rules," the Minister noted.
But he also acknowledged that the local professional body of engineers, Jamaica Institution of Engineers, was aware of challenges facing its members, commending its focus on "Globalisation and its Challenges for the Local Engineer", the theme of Engineers Week 2000.
JIE's development seminars, he said, "highlights your own recognition that you are operating in a rapidly changing international environment in which territorial boundaries and geographic limitations have been eroded by the significant developments in technology."
Engineers Week ran from September 24 to 28, with a series of workshops held at the Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus, and was declared open by the Minister.
"Billions of dollars are spent across the Caribbean each year... and Jamaican enterprises need to get some of these investment funds," said Dr. Phillips.
Outlining the amount of money being spent locally, the Minister spoke of:
improvements at both international airports representing investments of $2 billion since 1996, and plans to expend another $1.7 billion in capital expenditure earmarked in the current financial year;
the $13.1 billion, based on November 1999 currency values, spent on capital road projects between 1993 AND 1999; and
the over US$100 million invested in upgrading and expansion works on port facilities over the last two years, with an additional US$72 million earmarked for this financial year.
