The value of planned construction projects in the GCC is estimated to have reached $172bn in 2015 and, consequently, the number of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals is growing by the day. This month, Lorraine Bangera goes back to school, to examine AEC qualifications and the educational culture shaping the AEC sector
With a large AEC industry and large projects on the horizon for the Dubai Expo 2020 and Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022, the talent present in the GCC region is key to delivering top-notch projects.
Recruiting and career growth in the region varies from company to company, some companies in the GCC focus on qualifications and the others on the number of years of experience.
Goldie Bekin, talent management and development manager for UAE and Oman at AECOM, says that while choosing an ideal candidate in this region, companies focus on the right skillset and are professionally qualified. “I don’t think one aspect is more important that the other, it is the combination of both.”
According to her, entry level graduates use qualification to open the door for them, and through experience navigate their way through their career. “Though qualifications opens the door to preliminary prospects, it is the experience you have gained working on various projects that opens doors to specific and celebrated opportunities.”
In the GCC, companies tend to lean towards paper qualification and being a chartered engineer. Lesley Desport, associate director of infrastructure at Atkins, says this sort of attitude predominately exists in the GCC, rather than the West. “I don’t believe that candidates could be ruled out on the basis of not being chartered in the UK.”
She believes that in the West there is a better understanding of experience, rather than a candidate just being chartered. “In the GCC there is a high value of being chartered and I think it is higher than necessary.”
That being said, Desport agrees that it has always been advised to be chartered and could even be beneficial, however she insists that has never been so critical outside this region.
Ultimately, she advices young professionals to get chartered. “Especially if you want to remain in the Middle East, where it is almost an essential to become chartered. Even if you want to progress further in your career, there was no reason for graduates based in the Middle East not to consider it.”
Alex Albani, associate professor of architecture at American University in Dubai (AUD), takes the discussion further by pointing out that in some countries, like the US, being professionally qualified is not even necessary to become an architect or engineer.
From his experience, in the US, all architects do not necessarily go through academic training. However, he does point out that it takes almost three years more compared to a person who is qualified.
He says: “If you don’t have a qualification, it will take you 15 years of on-the-job training to be eligible for a licensing exam. While if you have a professional qualification (which usually takes around five years), after three years of on-the-job training, you will be eligible to sit for a licensing exam.”
He clarifies that in the UAE, however, you have to have a professional degree and there were no set licensing exams for architects or engineers. “The government has been working on it, and I am looking forward to it being introduced. Not only will a license, set a standard but it will also raise the standard of the building sector.”
Training the qualified
Dr John Alexander Smith, professor of architecture at AUD, observes that most students who graduate from universities have very limited experience. He says: “Firms, especially architectural firms, want someone who can land on their feet and make money for the firm.”
There has always been a dilemma between education and training, the academic professor observes. “In some countries, it is common for students who become full-time employees for up to a year, before they come back to complete their degree. This makes them very employable.”
According to him, a year of work experience before graduating could be very helpful for fresh graduates, even more than an internship. However, internships are a lot more common in this region than a year off to work, which he emphasises, needs to change.
Desport, on the other hand, supports the internship system saying that not only does it help young professionals but also adds value to the company. “If the intern has been valued by the company, we would most definitely be interested in bringing them on board.”
She says that internships are enormously beneficial for both parties, as a relationship is established. In Qatar specifically, she observes that internship programmes could be quite competitive. However, if the company and the student have prior relationship, it does make an arrangement a lot easier.
Once the students have become fresh graduates and join a firm such as Atkins, they are immediately trained via the in-house training programmes. Desport discloses that the training programme at Atkins provides training in the discipline of their choosing be it civil engineering or electrical or any other. It aims to support the graduate as they make their way to becoming chartered. She explains that once the graduates are done with the programme, they would be very close to applying to be chartered engineers.
She does quickly clarify that such in-house training is not the be-all and end-all of learning. In fact she argues that the only way professionals would continue to be any good, would be through constantly learning regardless of any training programme.
“At Atkins, engineers are urged to continuously perfect their skills by attending events and making sure they are always training.”
Desport, is also the chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Qatar, and makes sure her team runs two evening seminars on a monthly basis called the professional development group to help professionals constantly learn how to better themselves as engineers.
If professionals are not part of any training agreement with their own companies, Desport reveals that there are plenty of other means to get trained including morning courses, evening seminars and so on.
Where do most graduates come from?
The AEC sector has a high rate of expatriates working in it. According to Helen Robinson, head of talent for the Middle East at Atkins, there is a lack of GCC nationals applying to private sector positions.
Most experts agree that though GCC nationals are mostly good candidates for the roles, they tend to choose the public sector over the private.
Robinson discloses that GCC graduates, on the other hand, have had good reviews from employers. “The level of graduates coming out of this region has been pretty good. However, there has been a relatively less of graduates from engineering and architectural discipline because of the lack of AEC courses in the GCC.”
According to Desport, Atkins based in this region, tends to employ more graduates from regional universities in Jordan, UAE and Egypt rather than the UK.
Bekin imparts that AECOM also only targets regional universities specifically the UAE for employing graduates. “We don’t actively go into other countries looking for graduates. We found that we have been able to meet the needs of the organisation, by looking locally.” Of course that does not mean, the company rules out any candidate that has applied from oversees, but locally groomed individuals are highly sort after.
Bekin perceives that there will always be some universities that will outshine another. However, regardless of rankings or reputation, Bekin claims to prefer receiving graduates who meet the eligibility criteria rather than look at those factors. She says: “GCC graduates have managed to get into AECOM, through entry tests which have been pretty tough.”
She claims that once they are in the company, they have been able to work and progress in their careers. “Thus, I don’t think the education in the UAE or the region is second class to education from another country.”
In contrast to most other countries, the GCC does not focus much on the ranking of universities while recruiting its graduates. Bekin declares that if she had to mention some universities with a good graduate turnout, she would pick the UAE’s American University of Sharjah and AUD, and Lebanon’s American University of Beirut.
Robinson from Atkins, also says ranking hasn’t been on the criteria. “In the UK where they would be employing from a large number of graduates, ranking would probably be more advantageous. However in the Middle East, it isn’t really important.”
The post-grad
There has been a growing demand for highly qualified individuals in the market, especially professionals with a Master’s degree.
Smith says that as the market slows down, investors get a bit picky and start looking for the best. The best then translates into not only someone with experience but also that “extra definition” through a Master’s qualification. “A Master’s is like an extra qualification, and could sometimes define if you get a job or not. It also depends what kind of Master’s you choose, if it is a specialisation and if it has demand in the market. For example, if you have a Master’s in Landscape Design, it is a good one to have because most buildings need landscapes, such as driveways, parking, vegetation, and fountains. Thus a qualification like that could be attractive.”
He argues that acquiring such a specialisation is not tied to just a degree and could be acquired through obtaining a particular skillset through experience.
Bekin agrees that a Master’s degree could open doors that not having one wouldn’t. “However, on the flipside, if you have the right amount of experience and have been exposed to the right kind of projects and network of people, I don’t think not having a Master’s degree would hinder a professional’s growth.”
On a personal level though, Bekin maintains that it is important to acknowledge, that a Master’s could help with the personal development of a person and change their mindsets and the way their brain functions.
Albani says that even though a post-graduate degree may not be a sole requirement it could be very useful to focus on a specific niche. He explains that an individual pursuing a Master’s wishes to develop higher skills in a specific specialisation, get into research and wants to seem more marketable
At Atkins, Master’s graduates are often considered for major roles, according to Robinson. The graduates of a Masters’ degree (in some circumstances) have an edge over their competition.
Albani exposes that this edge also allows them to demand for a higher salary, which other experts accept is true.
Evolving role of a university
Smith argues that the role of a university is not to train students but to educate them. “It is an important distinction.”
He talks about the increasing pressure that has been thrown on universities to deliver technically savvy individuals. “They want someone who can immediately assume a position in private practice and make a valid contribution to the office, which is impossible to achieve immediately”
The professor urges that in cases like this a year off to work in a professional environment before graduation would truly help a student grasp what needs to be learnt, giving them enough time to get used to the expectations of being an AEC professional. It would also help the company get to know the professional before considering to get them on-board in the long-term.
Albani states that lately academia has become a lot more hands-on concentrating on the practical. Though as an academic, he wants all future engineers and architects to focus on theory as well. “I believe in having a theoretical background and professionals who have learnt where we were, where we are going, and where we will be.
“People who are not qualified and picked up practical skills without theoretical knowledge lack the in-depth know-how.”
He believes that through education a professional is exposed to a more holistic approach, which could help them come up with better solutions and rightly raise the standard of building here in the GCC.