Shortage of sustainable skills threatens the future

Consulting engineering practice Atelier Ten is calling for an urgent focus on the recruitment, education and training of the next generation of professionals needed to sustain the burgeoning environmental engineering industry. Patrick Bellew, managing director of Atelier Ten, explains, ‘With ambitious and demanding targets being set for new buildings, the need for skilled environmental designers is more urgent than ever.’ He is particularly concerned about the growing problem of the lack of properly trained people able to address projects — starting at the macro level of planning, extending through plant and systems, right through the individual building design. He says, ‘The point is probably best made by looking at the new “toolkit” used by the modern environmental engineer. It includes cogeneration, solar, biomass and wind — not to mention ground-source systems. Compared to what’s gone before, this is a whole new language.’

Related links:

• www.atelierten.com