Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING CAPACITY: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND MOBILITYers of social and economic development. If the data that existscan be disaggregated by gender, surely a better disaggregationinto science and engineering, and various fields of science andengineering, should also be possible? The answer here is thatpolicy-makers need to ask for such data and indicators; justas gender disaggregated data became available in response torequests from policy-makers.Another approach to the needs and numbers issue in engineeringis to look at the approach of other professions, suchas doctors, lawyers and teachers, to the same issue. While thedemand for lawyers is more variable and elastic around theworld, and the demand for teachers more directly determinedby school age populations, the need for doctors, physiciansand associated senior health service professionals perhapsmost closely approximates that of engineers. The numbers ofdoctors per capita is also similar to that for engineers – onaverage thirteen doctors per 10,000 people, in richer countriesrising to over twenty, and in poorer countries falling to belowfive per 10,000. Doctors and physicians are also more in thepublic eye, however, as improvements in health are linked tothe supply, and shortage, of healthcare workers. Models havebeen developed to estimate the need, demand for and supplyof doctors, and the identification of potential shortages. Itwould be most useful to explore models and the forecastingof the need and demand for and supply of doctors and physicianswith the view of developing and applying similar modelsto engineering so as to examine and improve the health of anation’s technology and infrastructure.7.2.2Technical capacity-buildingand WFEODaniel Clinton and Russell JonesThe World Federation of Engineering Organizations, throughits Committee on Capacity Building, is dedicated to assistingdeveloping countries to engage effectively in the global marketplace via technical capacity-building.In the pursuit of a more secure, stable and sustainable world,developing countries seek to enhance their human, institutionaland infrastructure capacity. To do so they need a solidbase of technologically-prepared people to effectively improvetheir economies and quality of life. Such a base will facilitatethe infusion of development aid and provide a basis for businesspartnerships and development by local entrepreneurs.In a coordinated approach, UNESCO and WFEO are mountingmajor efforts at technical capacity-building in developingcountries.Economic development, and indeed human development, canbe stimulated by building the technical capacity of a workforcethrough quality engineering education programmes. Acompetent technical workforce can then provide several pathsto economic development: by addressing local and nationaltechnical needs; by developing small business start-ups andtechnically competent entrepreneurs; by the creation andattraction of technically-orientated companies that will invest;by effective utilization of foreign aid funds; and by providing alegacy of appropriate infrastructure and technically competentpeople capable of operating and maintaining it.Capacity-building can be defined as, ‘the building of human,institutional and infrastructure capacity to help societiesdevelop secure, stable and sustainable economies, governmentsand other institutions through mentoring, training,education, physical projects, the infusion of financial andother resources and, most importantly, the motivation andinspiration of people to improve their lives.’A simpler statement is that capacity-building in the developmentcontext is the process of assisting people to develop thetechnical skills to address their own needs for improving theliving standards and prosperity of their own people and, fromthere, building a sustainable society.Attempts to build capacity are most successful as a partnershipwhen they are driven by the host nation working together withthe supplier of assistance. Identification of key stakeholders ofthe host nation who have vision and drive, but also connectionsto key decision-makers in central and local governmentare essential. Those stakeholders can assist in defining and prioritizingthe greatest needs, and means to achieve them. Theresources of the supplier can then be used most effectively.Responding to the needs of the developing world requires a‘paradigm shift’ not only in governments, engineering associations,and charitable foundations, but also in the academicand business worlds.In the global economy of the twenty-first century, engineersplay a key role in overall economic development for countriesand regions. In the well-developed countries, the role of theengineer is well understood and utilized. In many developingcountries, the available pool of engineering talent is below criticalmass, often to the extent that even vital and basic needs,such as the need for clean water supply and sanitation, are notbeing met.Technical capacity-building efforts should therefore aim todevelop a sufficient pool of skilled engineers to bring aboutseveral desirable outcomes, including:addressing the United Nations■ Millennium DevelopmentGoals including poverty reduction, safe water and sanitation,clean energy and transportation;313