More than 800 delegates have descended on Rotorua in New Zealand for IPWEA and IFME’s joint Conference this week, making this the biggest IPWEA conference of all time.
This year’s MC, entertainer and comedienne Michelle A’Court oversaw the opening session this morning, which included a traditional Maori ‘challenge’ and delegates coming together to sing Pokarekare Ana.
With more than 800 people from 17 nations and a staggering 56 exhibitors she told told delegates they were “the UN of engineering”.
Outgoing IPWEA President Michael Kahler gave a rallying speech about the state of the public works sector, focusing on the role of technology and globalisation in shaping the industry in the coming years.
“These new technologies and markets also create the need for new skills sets,” Kahler told delegates.
He added that outgoing CEO Chris Champion would take on an international role with the IPWEA upon vacating his position as CEO. The new role recognises the increasingly global world of public works that the association operates in.
Kahler also highlighted the challenges faced by the sector by the ageing membership and lack of women engineers joining and staying in the sector.
While there is an over-supply of engineers in Australia – AECOM received 8000 applications for its graduate program this year – there has been a 35 per cent reduction in major infrastructure projects since 2013.
He noted the strong growth of Young IPWEA membership, which has risen from 6 per cent in 2013 to 11 per cent in 2015.
Encouraging women to enter and stay in the public works sector was also a challenge, he admitted – the disparity in pay between the sexes being one problem.
“Engineering is still seen as a career for brainy boys,” Kahler conceded.
President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson gave a most impressive opening address via video. In his speech he likened his nation to New Zealand, adding that “smallness is not necessarily a barrier to greatness”.
“We can achieve a sustainable world by sharing knowledge created in our various communities.”
Following President Grimmson, Mayor of Hastings Lawrence Yule presented on the state of the local government sector in New Zealand.
Currently the New Zealand Government is undergoing a LGNZ funding review, which will be published in July. It follows on the back of the Local Government New Zealand Survey, which sought to get the public’s perception of local government.
“As a sector we need to take more risk, but we need to understand a sector how you manage that risk,” he told delegates.
Click here to read PWPro’s interview with Lawrence Yule