Civil Engineers Feel Impact of Recession - ICE Annual Salary Survey

The average basic salary for civil engineers dropped for the first time in seven years according to the Institution of Civil Engineers annual salary survey, clearly showing the impact of the recession on the sector.

Basic average income in the UK dropped by 0.3 percent to £47,282 in the 2008 tax year, breaking a steady run of increases since the survey's inception in 2003. Total salary, which includes secondary income and bonuses, fell by 1.7 percent to £51,899. This was due to significant drops in additional income: secondary income (21.5%), overtime income (7.6%) and bonuses (13.2%).

Interestingly, the recession has not affected all workers equally. The survey showed those on lower salaries have been affected more severely, with the bottom ten percent of earners seeing significant falls in basic income (6%). Conversely, the top ten percent of earners saw moderate increases (1.2 %).

Despite the fall in salaries, members' satisfaction with both their role and their employer satisfaction remained high across the board and job security was also fairly strong (57% rating their job as secure or very secure).

New best practice guide for construction clients

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has launched a new initiative aimed to ensure best value from the public purse on government funded construction projects.

At a time of likely cuts in public spending, the case for improving efficiency and value on construction projects funded by central government, local government authorities and regional development agencies has never been greater.

The new ICE Client Best Practice Guide will play a vital role in the move to a more efficient public procurement culture. For the construction industry this means avoiding wasted investment, over-spending and missing completion dates on major infrastructure projects.

The guide is a one-stop reference and route map for achieving best practice from a construction client’s perspective. It explains how to influence the success of projects - during the planning, development and implementation stages as well as during operation and final decommissioning. Ultimately it will ensure better value for money for the taxpayer.

Speaking at the launch event, Sue Kershaw, Head of Programme Management, ODA Transport, Olympic Delivery Authority, said: 'The role and performance of clients is one of the most significant factors in determining the ultimate success of construction projects, regardless of their size, complexity or location. But poor procurement practices can lead to wasted investment. Clients need to know if they are using best practice, how can this be assessed and how it leads to project success'.

The Client Best Practice Guide is available in hard copy and online. For more information go to www.icevirtuallibrary.com/clientguide.

Conference backs ICE Infrastructure plan

Neil Kinnock, former European transport commissioner, and economist Will Hutton spoke in support of ICE's plan for a national infrastructure investment bank at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Both agreed that the bank was needed to ensure that key infrastructure projects have a secure source of funding.

ICE believes that the overall impact of the infrastructure investment bank will be to strengthen UK competitiveness and help the country's transition to a low-carbon economy.

Public satisfaction with UK roads and highways goes downhill

Public satisfaction with the state of our roads and highways has dropped for the third consecutive quarter according to a new survey released by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

The survey, which monitors change in attitudes to key public services in the UK, showed that only 54% of respondents are satisfied with the current state of the UK’s roads and highways. This has slipped down from 58% per cent in the last quarter and 62% in the quarter before.

When asked which services are the priorities for more investment, the disposal of rubbish and waste just topped the list with 39% putting this as their first or second investment priority. Roads and highways came a close second with 37% listing this in their top two areas in need of investment, compared to 50% in the last quarter.

ICE’s Director General, Tom Foulkes said:

“You cannot blame the public for becoming more dissatisfied and frustrated with the state of our roads and highways. With an estimated £1bn road maintenance backlog, there are too many roads that have been in need of proper repair for a long time and are deteriorating further by the day...Funding for maintenance tends to focus on quick-fix reactive work which rarely tackles the underlying cause of damage and fails to prolong the life of the road. It is also costly as it usually needs to be repeated regularly. The focus needs to be on planned, preventative maintenance programmes that provide better value for money and long term solutions.

The survey, conducted quarterly by ComRes, investigates public attitudes towards key public works and services and asks them to indicate their overall levels of satisfaction as well as their top investment priorities.

Is the Government helping or hindering the recruitment process?

Without doubt, the civil engineering recruitment industry has suffered in the past year. Most have cut their print and online recruitment spending in line with fewer jobs and a plentiful supply of candidates. Civils employers are working hard to retain key staff in a bid to safeguard existing jobs and be poised to reap the rewards as and when the upturn comes.

Within this environment, the government has come under attack for sending out 1,000 bogus CVs to employers as part of an investigation into equality in recruitment, it has emerged.

The Department for Work and Pensions sent out the fake job applications as part of an exercise to establish the extent to which people with “foreign” names faced discrimination. The CVs included candidates with 'Anglo-Saxon' names and those with similar qualifications and a name that suggested they were from an ethnic minority. The CVs were linked to mobile phone numbers, which were used to monitor whether the candidates were offered an interview.

With results due later in the summer, the project is thought to be laying the groundwork for future legislation requiring that nameless CVs are used in job applications.But the exercise has come in for criticism from some employers’ groups. 'We are completely shocked to hear the DWP has gone ahead with this,' said Gareth Elliott of the British Chambers of Commerce. 'Businesses have enough on their plate without having to deal with the underhand tactics of the DWP.'

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