Revitalization of the engineering profession in Kenya
For years, Engineering professionals in Kenya have had a raw deal owing to the brinkmanship, gatekeeping and red tape that curtails their progress.
The Engineers Board of Kenya, previously known as the Engineers Registration Board, the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, Association of Consulting Engineers of Kenya and Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board could be merged to form an outfit like the Engineering Society of Kenya that would get rid of duplicity in terms of professional representation.
Registration to the newly fangled Engineering Society of Kenya would be free and automatic by dint of one having completed their studies in Engineering at TVET or undergraduate level.
That registration would consequently earn you an automatic spot in the Kenya National Union of Engineers, Federation of African Engineers Organizations, World Federation of Engineering Organizations and International Engineering Alliance.
It would also act as a liaison to other global engineering societies, which are more than a hundred in number and champion for networking with members of the engineering profession all over the world.
For a long time accreditation of many engineering courses has stalled due to the conservatism and bureaucracy choking the Engineers Board of Kenya.
This is a mandate whose input is currently donated to many other state corporations among them the Commission for Higher Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Technical and Vocational Training Authority, TVET Curriculum Development Council, Kenya Accreditation Service and Kenya National Qualification Authority.
If the accreditation was harmonious, EBK wouldn’t have its way as it has in the past.
The other issue plaguing the engineering profession is that its affairs are canvassed across different ministries. Some functions are catered for under the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, Ministry of Gender and Public Service, the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs and Ministry of Petroleum and Mining.
One parent ministry named as the Ministry of Information, Communication, Science, Engineering and Technology would ensure all engineering matters are canvassed under a single roof.
The liberalization of the engineering profession would see many other courses which have been denied recognition and accreditation currently get admission into the society among them Software Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Geospatial Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Biosystems Engineering , Agricultural Engineering , Biomedical Engineering , Mechatronic Engineering, Financial Engineering, Mining and Geological Engineering , Nuclear Engineering , Environmental Engineering , Material Science Engineering , Telecommunications Engineering , Vehicle Engineering , Marine Engineering , Industrial Engineering , Architectural and Structural Engineering, Transport Engineering , Railway Engineering, Production Engineering , Process Engineering, Aerospace Engineering just to mention a few.
The notion that Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics Engineering are the only disciplines that can be recognized should be done away with.
Another issue that would be cardinal would be fast — tracked, merited progression across the profession. Moving from graduate engineering level to professional and consulting engineering level should have no hurdles so as to ensure we have a vibrant profession where junior engineering professionals are given equal opportunities as senior engineering professionals.
The Engineering Society of Kenya would make sure its members are enumerated competitively like their counterparts globally, recognized and given priority when it comes to local engineering projects.
I am usually at a loss for words when foreign engineers are awarded contracts for huge infrastructural projects that could as well have gone to local engineers who are equally competent and well skilled to handle them.
There is a definitive publication for engineering in Kenya known as the Kenya Engineer Magazine. It is run by the Institute of Engineers of Kenya. Their last edition was in December 2019. All of 2020 I haven’t seen any of their editions.
The Engineering Society of Kenya would take it over, rebrand it to a continental and even international publication that consistently churns out quality publications on matters engineering. It would also be digitally accessible to all of its members at zero cost. The Society would also find means to ensure other global publications on engineering issues are accessible to all its members for free.
The Engineering Society of Kenya would run a joint program with the Kenya National Employment Authority and the National Industrial Training Authority where engineering professionals are able to access opportunities. An ambitious program involving cataloguing all engineering professionals alongside their current exploits, be it employment, consulting, contracting, and freelancing within the profession. This will then enable them to create more opportunities for those who still have no placements. They would also run placement chapters in TVETs and Faculties of Engineering in Universities where internships and attachments would be easy to get for the learners there. Those who have graduated would also find it easy to land assignments since the placement chapters would have updated databases of firms with openings for engineering professionals.
The Society, through its parent ministry, would also liaise with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide international learning opportunities by way of scholarships, research grants and exchange programs. This would further strengthen the profile of the local engineering sector.
