National President's Report
2008-2009 was an extraordinary year. Australia experienced horrific bushfires and devastating floods that called for Herculean response efforts by many members of the engineering team. I am proud to say that Engineers Australia has, and is continuing to play a role in rebuilding efforts. Service to the profession and our community, and the esteem in which we are held, have been our hallmarks as we celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the establishment in 1919 of The Institution of Engineers Australia as the national body to represent the engineering profession. The Looking Forward. Looking Back. theme has been taken up across the organisation and many of our activities have acknowledged our proud heritage.
But crucially, in looking forward to the future, two key initiatives evolved during the year. Preparation for Engineers Australia’s next five year strategic plan was a major focus through the year with divisions, college and stakeholder groups engaged in planning sessions, culminating in the very successful July 2009 Strategic Planning workshop. A draft 2010-2015 plan has been prepared from this body of work. The other key initiative was the development of the Make It So marketing campaign. This public awareness campaign will be critical in generating advocates for engineering in order to attract people into our profession; this at a time when the world desperately needs engineers.
Beyond our shores, the grim story of the Global Financial Crisis unfolded, recession took hold around the world, and Australia anticipated the worst. Our reliance on resource exports exposed our economy to the global downturn and the ensuing shockwaves. The Council of Engineers Australia took early measures to ensure that Engineers Australia could respond to any financial threats to the organisation.
Given these factors, it is quite remarkable that I can report that Engineers Australia has never looked in better shape. During a very difficult financial year our staff and office bearers were able to contain costs and increase revenues such that we exceeded our end of year budget by over $1M and delivered a very sound balance sheet. Moreover, at 30 June 2009 we had a record membership of 88,560, very nearly achieving 90,000 in our 90th anniversary year. Importantly our overall membership profile is getting younger each year, and our female member numbers are over 10%, albeit still too few. During the year, Council considered strategies to better support and sustain our overseas membership, including increased financial support.
Even so, I have found engagement from our overseas members remains strong and we have established new interest groups in the USA and the Middle East. Significantly, our Professional Development Program, which partners with employers to support engineers to achieve their Chartered Status, has been tremendously successful with well over 6,000 participants signed up across more than 300 organisations.
I am also pleased to report that access to our on-line library is now a free member benefit. This significant initiative wasin response to members’ expressed desire for more technicalinformation and the wealth of online publications will providevaluable assistance to members in their daily work lives. Of special note is that 2008: Year of the Engineering Team was a highly successful catalyst to enhancing recognition of our Associate and Technologist members. The Year of the Engineering Team also resolved the various governance anomalies and unclear articulation processes that were barriers to these occupational categories getting best value from their membership. The term “engineering team” is now part of our daily lexicon.
It has been an honour and privilege to be National President in 2009 and I owe much to our 2008 National President Julie Hammer for her superb leadership and guidance. I would also like to express my gratitude to my fellow councillors, our volunteer office bearers both in Australia and overseas and to those organisations that support Engineers Australia. Finally, I offer a special thank you to our Chief Executive Peter Taylor and to his superb staff right around Australia who support our endeavours so well.
Peter Godfrey FIEAust CPEng
National President 2009
