The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the global economy.
In a matter of weeks, nationwide lockdowns have closed businesses and resulted in drastic job losses. Employers in Australia and New Zealand are now operating with remote workforces, as staff work from home where possible in order to follow social distancing rules.
As economic growth slows, and normal life is suspended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, individuals and organisations must decide where to invest valuable time and resources over the next six months. A key area of investment is training and development.
Government stimulus in the form of infrastructure projects will be central to the recovery from the coronavirus crisis. In this rebuilding phase, the demand for public works engineers will increase. For organisations, the present moment offers an opportunity to strategically prepare to meet the changing demands of the future.
Preparing to deal with a crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical need to take a proactive approach to planning – and what happens when complacency creeps in.
“Traditionally, organisations have been reactive to whatever the current crisis has been,” says Allen Mapstone, Director Strategic Asset Management at IPWEA. “We’re hit by a flood, we spend money on stormwater.”
Aside from the obvious threat to individual health, the danger COVID-19 poses lies in the pressure mass transmission places on the healthcare system, the communications network and the businsess sector.
As we recover from the global coronavirus lockdown, new challenges will emerge. The question for the engineering sector is how do we build the resilience required to manage these types of crises in the future?’.
Central to overcoming that challenge are forward planning and risk management, key modules in IPWEA’s Professional Certificate in Asset Management. It’s a course designed to equip participants with the skills and capabilities to deal with change – whether it’s the effects of climate change, technological disruption or a viral pandemic.
The Asset Management process helps leaders take into consideration a multitude of changing factors to make informed decisions to provide long-term benefits to communities. “There will always be a new crisis affecting our livlihoods. Lacking a crystal ball, our course will help you plan for the changing environment around us,” says Steve Verity, Principal Advisor in Asset Management at IPWEA.
In a period of profound uncertainty, one thing is sure: the world will be irrevocably changed when it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. “No matter the size of the organisation, or whatever the current crisis, the process for dealing with change and managing risk should remain the same,” he says.
For more information about the Professional Certificate in Asset Management, visit the IPWEA website.