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CONTENTS '19-26.08.10
.NewCivilEngineer
nec:
www.nce.CO.UK
New Civil Engineer
lstFloor,GreaterLondon House Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ
EDITORIALENQUIRIES Tel: (020) 77284544 (fax4666) Email:prefixplus@emap.com EDITOR1Antony Oliver (020) 77284541 antony.oliver DEPUTYEDITOR1JackieWhitelaw (020) 7728 4542 jackie.whitelaw MANAGINGEDITDR1MarkHansford (020) 77284543 mark.hansford NEWSEDITOR1AlexandraWynne (020) 77284540 alexandra.wynne SENIORREPORTER1EdOwen
(020) 7728 4545 ed.owen REPORTER1Jo Stimpson (020) 77284544 jo.stimpson REPORTER1Declan Lynch (020) 7728 4546 declan.lynch
ADVERTISING
DISPLAYADVERTISING1FrancisBarham
(020) 77284525
RECRUITMENT1Victoria Williams (020) 7728 3825
le
REÇU
0 1 SEP.2010
www.nce.co.uk 19-26.08.10 NEWCIVil ENGINEER3
05
TRANSPORT
Runaway Tube train Engineering train runs through seven stations without stopping
This week's issue represents a personal mile stone. Unbelievably (to me) it's a decade Silice1took over as editor of NCE.
Of course 1had to look nostalgically back at that issue of August 2000 to remind myself of what was happening then. 1sort of wish 1 hadn't.
The first thing that leapt out at me was the 22 pages of recruitment advertising crammed into the back of the magazine - a long- standing barometer of the market's health.
UK civil engineering was certainly booming back then.
With New Labour weIl into its stride, public spending on rail, roads and so-called integrated transport projects was building and with it the industry's confidence and fortunes. Projects such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link section Two were getting into swing, contractaIs' profits were doubling year on year and UK firms were shunning "high risk" overseas activity for the securityofhome.
08
NEWS
Ciantturbine delivered World's largest ridaI turbine arrives in Orkney
21
BRIDGES SPECIAL Australia to Redhayes A look at Sallie of the world's most innovative new projects
Alsoin thisissue
06 News
Pakistan infrastructure damage is worsening
08 News
Matt buys Australian firm in expansion bid
10 News
Calva bridge work reaches critical stage
Comment
AntonyOliver
14 Letters
Transport, business, disasters
40 ICE News
ICE HQ to be London 2012 media venue
48 Recruitment
Opportunities Down Under
Il.IISa decade since . look over as edilor of NCE.Ten years on, much bas changedll
Ten,ears on - and 1still believe in future of UKcivils
Fears of skill shortage and over-heated markets were, perhaps predictably, the aIder of the clay.Back then 1was writing about the
"excitement" ofworking on "inspirational projects around the globe" and the need to
continue to attract the best talent
-male and
female - into the industry.Ten years on much bas certainly changed.
We still, of course, need to boost the par, conditions and career prospects of young people entering the profession but today the difficulty is tao litde work for this talent to get stuck into. And with the inevitable public sector cuts looming in October's Compre- hensive Spending Review, it is bard to feel anything but dismay at the position we now find ourselves.
While projects such as Crossrail and the London Tideway Tunnels, the nuclear new build programme and the on-going barde to upgrade our water and rail infrastructure certainly plough on, for many the next few years will be about survival. Gloomy stuff for
sure, but after ten years you surelywouldn't expect me to be anything other than moder- ately optimistic about our future fortunes?
Because optimistic 1 am- there are still sa many huge opportunities and challenges for the profession to get stuck into.
Yes, life as we knew it will change. Yes, the levels of public investment available for infrastructure will probably never return to those seen over the last decade. But this country - and others aIl around the globe-
will still need decent modern infrastructure to drive a sustainable future.
That me ans that without question there will be a huge amount for civil engineers to do. And to survive we must also change.
Ten years aga, as the market boomed 1said
"there is an opportunity for the profession to take a lead IOlein shaping our society".
The economic position may have altered but today and in the decade ahead, the sentiment still stands.
. Antony Oliver is NCEs editor
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