Engineering technicians will be pivotal to good design, says Tony Gee’s Graham Nicholson, and need to be as comfortable with basic engineering as they are with the latest software.

 So what does the future of a design consultancy practice look like?  What skills will we need in five or 10 years' time?  I'm certain it will be very different to the recent past and whilst we are all still gearing up for the BIM revolution there is still a long way to go.  

"Engineering technicians will form an even more vital part of the design process than they do today as not only will they create the design as they manipulate the software tools but they must make the design practical."

Whether it is called BIM or something else there is no doubt that design is going to be managed and delivered entirely digitally and that will require a new set of skills and some redefined roles.  Thinking digitally comes naturally to the latest generation who have known nothing else.  On the other hand thinking practically is something they have little exposure to and we need to teach and develop that. 

We need people who understand the practicalities of construction and who can collaborate with others in the new digitally focused world of construction. The current emphasis seems to be on technology. Of course that is important but without a good understanding of how things are put together, and how they work, we will not deliver the efficiencies we seek. 

Looking back, the traditional draughtsman was at the heart of many great projects. Those people understood design and whilst they didn't take responsibility for the mathematical design proof, they made the design work practically. It is a skill that we are in danger of losing yet it is vital to the successful completion of any project.

"It is surely only a matter of time however before all design, modelling and analysis, becomes integrated. Whatever the future software developments are, the engineer and technician will be a vital component of any design organisation and of equal importance."

We will require these same skills in our engineering technicians in the future.  They will form an even more vital part of the design process than they do today as not only will they create the design as they manipulate the software tools but they must make the design practical.

As the software becomes ever more complex with increased functionality we will have to ensure that we give our apprentices the time to learn basic engineering. They can't be left to become only software specialists.

That is why the apprenticeship models being developed now, as part of the UK Government’s Trailblazers programme puts so much emphasis on what an engineering technician should look like when they have completed their first two years of training.  This however only marks the start of their careers and we need to ensure that they are continually exposed to the coal face of construction, where contractors put designs into practice.

It is inevitable that in the future our current engineering apprentices will become specialists in software but we must not lose sight of the fact that they will also be the "designers" as they work with others to make projects buildable.  It is likely that the boundary between the qualified design engineer and the engineering technician will become more blurred with both being responsible for design. 

So what become of the traditional design engineer?  They will need to understand the capabilities of the advanced software, be able to operate it at a basic level, and provide the concepts and innovations needed to drive the industry forward.  They will be ultimately responsible for the safety of the design most likely by using other analytical software.  It is surely only a matter of time however before all design, modelling and analysis, becomes integrated. Whatever the future software developments are, the engineer and technician will be a vital component of any design organisation and of equal importance.

Graham Nicholson is executive managing director of Tony Gee & Partners