WHY NOT QUALIFY?

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4383, 27 February 1922, Page 1

WHY NOT QUALIFY?

POSITION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. COSTLY MISTAKES OF THE PAST. “In my opinion it is absolutely necessary that the Government should lay down tlhe qualifications of a civil engineer, particularly an engineer who engages in local government work,” stated Mn W. H. Morton (Wellington City Engineer) at the EnginConference on Tuesday. “Throughout New Zealand a great, deal of money has been improperly spent, with disastrous resulte. If : pioneering engineering work is not done properly, it simply means that a whole lot of trouble is heaped up. It can only be put right by the expenditure of large sums of money. ? There has been evidence of. this right •through New Zealand-, and I maintain that it is the duty of the Government and not of the Society of Engineers, to see that civil engineers have proper qualifications befor,e they are allowed to spend public money.” jThis view was generally endorsed. Ohe delegate stated' that an engineer in New Zealand need have no qualificar tion whatever. He coul,d call- himself an engineer, and nobody could deny his claim. In the course" of his retiring address, the president, Mr F. W., MacLean (Chief Engineer, New Zealand Railways), stated: “In one respect at least we. have not succeeded .in achieving our aims, buti I can bear testimony that this has not been due to any lack of effort on the part of your council. Much as I hoped we could have been instrumental in the passing of much-needed legislatiop to secure that only properly-qualified engineers should be entrusted with engineering works in this country during my term of office as. your president, I feel that there is no occasion for despair.. This young country is dependent in a very special degree for itfe prosperity on the skilful and therefore the economical execution of the .engineering Works essential for its development, and I believe will sooner or later, recognise the necessity for insistence on satisfactory qualifications in its engineers. The country has already recognised this ip the establishment of our valuable school of engineering. This society makes no claim on behalf of its, members to the exclusive right to carry out the engineering work of this country, nor that its members shall be entitled to the hallmarks of competency, but does desire that proper training should be recognised as esi sential in those who practise the profession 'of engineering.”