Young Engineers Victoria (YEA-V) Blog

YEA-V Chair Blog August 2008 - Engineering Industry Week

It was Engineering Industry Week last week (25-29 August 2008) and this has kept everyone at YEA-V and Engineers Australia very busy.  YEA-V actually started its involvement in Engineering Industry week on Tuesday, 19 August with a presentation from the 2007 Young Professional Engineer of the Year, Patrick Hill.  There were also many young engineers present at the launch of Engineering Industry Week - a photo exhibition called “The Changing Face of Melbourne” which was held in the grand La Trobe Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria.

During Engineering Industry week numerous events were run for the general public, students and members of Engineers Australia encompassing the broad range of engineering disciplines.  There have been a variety of site visits around the centre of Melbourne and regional cities, including major sporting precincts landmarks and major projects as well as discussions on sustainability and other technical seminars.

It has been a jam packed week of engineering to promote the profession to students, the general public as well as the members of Engineers Australia.  Now I would like to ask the readers of this blog some questions:

• What did you do for Engineering Industry Week?
• What did your company/university do to promote the week to their employees and/or the general public?
• Did you visit any of the events that were held over the week either by Young Engineers of by Engineers Australia?
• Do you have any comments or queries about the week itself?

Many hours are devoted to promoting the week and running events during this time and so it is always worthwhile hearing back from the people that the events were targeted towards.  So here is your chance to have your say on the matter.  Post a comment to this blog or email us at yeavic@engineersaustralia.org.au with your comments or answers to the questions above.

Don't forget YEA-V's upcoming events:

Tuesday, 16 September - Financial Fitness Seminar

Saturday, 11 October - YEA-V Amazing Race. 

For further information or to register email yeavic@engineersaustralia.org.au

William Gielewski

YEA-V Co-Chair

YEA-V Chair Blog - July 2008

The 25 Year anniversary watch – A thing of the past?

Welcome young engineers to the first blog from your new 2008/2009 committee chairs – Phillip Vrettakis and William Gielewski! William and I will deliver a piece monthly throughout the year to spark interest and debate from members – so if you have any comments – we’re listening!

With the annual YEA-V Generation Exchange dinner only weeks away, I’ve put forward the following piece to prompt the question –

Does today’s generation have the same desires in employment as those of their forefathers?

As I looked through my fathers significant collection of long service awards, savvy crystal mugs and the inaugural 25 year watch over the weekend, I couldn’t help but wonder if I – let alone many Gen-X and Gen-Ys will ever acquire such an arrangement. With the ever increasing demand for high-calibre professionals – Will company loyalty become a thing of the past? Graduates and young professionals are becoming ever savvy in their choice of employer and are not afraid to ask “What’s in it for me?” during an interview. Naturally, most baby boomers wouldn’t be so receptive of such a point of order – Or would they? As I hear of many firms now offering massages during work time, daily fresh fruit, volunteer time, overseas secondment opportunities, flexi time – It begs the question – What will it take to keep YOU?

It seems that remuneration in a monetary sense is no longer enough to keep our young stars loyal for 25, 15 or even 10 years. And I will even dare suggest that a great work environment will always win over a slightly better annual rate. Today’s young professions are strong purveyors of a sensible work/life balance and know they are spending nearly 3 quarters of their year at work! I think most of you would agree that a happy environment is a productive one. So, is there a life for the baby-boomer inspired 60 hour week, taking work home, cancelling trips to close a project? Will phrases such as “It’s my way or the highway” and “The beatings will continue until morale improves” be a thing of the past? If there is any chance of keeping the 25 year watch alive – I certainly hope so!

Phillip Vrettakis
YEA-V Co-Chair

YEA-V Chairs’ Blog – April 2008

With my tenure almost over as Chair of YEA-V for 2007/2008, my focus is looking directly at our YEA-V AGM coming up on Tuesday, 10 June; this annual event is a great opportunity for young engineers and students in Victoria to take a step in their career and be part of a dynamic team promoting the profession.  If you would like to be a part of the team and in doing so, develop your skills and career as well as the profession, send us an email at yeavic@engineersaustralia.org.au, or check out the types of roles available on the committee on our website http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/yeavic/agm

A tremendous thanks from the YEA-V committee goes out to the Gippsland regional group who did a fantastic job in hosting the YEA-V committee for a site tour, dinner and meeting. The committee thoroughly enjoyed the evening and are looking forward to having ongoing discussions with the Gippsland group in the future.  Keep checking out the regional page in the newsletter and on the website for regional information and news.

On the events front, we are pleased, yet sorry to announce that the 15 May microbrewery tour has sold out 5 weeks in advance!  All 70 spots have been allocated and an excellent night is planned. Thanks again go to our fantastic sponsor Gasco for enabling these events to take place so successfully.  Our calendar of events for 2008/09 has also been pencilled in and I can assure you that we have a great combination of new, exciting activities as well as the return of some favourites.

We are getting some great feedback to our newsletter and website these days.  We greatly encourage you to continue to read through our newsletter as well as review our website and provide us with articles or let us know your comments, questions, feedback etc.

With the AGM fast approaching, now is the time to have a good think about how YEA-V can advance your career, be it through coming along to our events or joining the committee. All the best for April, you’ll hear from me one more time next month!

Mark Williams
YEA-V Chair

YEA-V Chair's Blog – March 2008

Another month, another set of fantastic YEA-V events and information coming your way!  If you haven’t had a look at the YEA-V newsletter recently because you have been so busy doing the work of four people during this skills shortage, I suggest you have a quick gander at it again.  With many recent additions becoming regular features, the YEA-V newsletter is getting national acclaim.  Full credit goes to my hard working editor in chief, Mr Will Gielewski.

The newsletter is an indication of the depth of information and activities available to you through YEA-V.  There is something for everyone included:

• events information;
• technical information;
• regional information;
• environmental news;
• famous engineers; as well as
• brief insights into the calendar;
• commitment and character of our colourful committee.

If you have any comments or feedback for our newsletter or this blog, we’d love to hear it! Just send us an email at yeavic@engineersaustralia.org.au or post a comment below.

It’s coming to an important time in the year for YEA-V… With our Annual General Meeting (AGM) coming up in June, it’s vital that we find enthusiastic young engineers out there to get involved in the committee next year.  If you would like to be a part of the team and in doing so, develop your skills and career as well as the profession, send us an email and we will send out some information to you prior to our AGM about the types of roles available on the committee.  Information about the AGM and positions available on the YEA-V Committee will be available on our website soon.

Are you an Engineer in a regional area of Victoria?  Would you like to host the YEA-V committee for a meeting (and surely we can squeeze in a few beers also) or have our annual regional footy day in your region?  If so, we’d love to hear from you!  Check out the regional page in the newsletter or on our website for details.

Our events have never been more diverse.  In the next few months we have Lawn Bowls on Sunday, 30 March, Networking Skills on Monday, 21 April, and the Microbrewery Tour on Thursday 15 May.  In addition, have a look at the technical page for dedicated information on technical events provided by the Board of Engineering groups, colleges and societies of interest to young engineers.  If you would like notification of upcoming events (one per month), feel free to send us an email and we’ll make sure we keep you up to date.

Our website is being updated regularly and a new online forum has been created for you to post your comments, questions, feedback etc.  For more information on YEA-V and activities, visit our new website http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/yeavic/

Now is the time to have a good think about how YEA-V can advance your career, be it through coming along to our events or joining the committee.  All the best for March and I hope to see you at one of our events soon.

Mark Williams
YEA-V Chair

YEA-V January 2008 Update

YEA-V welcomes you to another new year!  Who knows what this one will hold for all of us, our profession and the world in which we live.  I think everyone is all too aware that the world is hanging on a knife’s edge on a number of issues.  After the development of the population and industrial age as well as the computer age, we are really feeling the effect of expanding so quickly and are coming to grips with some issues we may run into in the next few decades.

2007 was an incredible year for identifying some of these issues and putting them in the media and on the political agenda.  ‘Sustainability’ has definitely become the biggest buzz word going around.  Funny thing though, ‘sustainability’ being a buzz word is quite an oxymoron…  The very nature of the word is that it must continue on and on. So what will we see in 2008?

I don’t think I really need to convince the young engineers in this country the importance of our role in ensuring a sustainable future. Or do I?  Are young engineers up to the challenge of tackling these problems head on?  At YEA-V we strongly encourage you to do so.  As I have said a number of times, ‘If not you, then who… If not now, then when?’  If you’re not sure where to start, becoming involved in a group like YEA-V is a fantastic start.  Meeting people, developing skills, gaining technical and inside knowledge regarding the issues are all invaluable tools not easily obtainable.

In 2008 we are again co-hosting some joint technical events with the Board of Engineering in addition to our own the fabulous events.  Already we have a number of events locked in including our highly experienced panel review of Carbon trading on Wednesday, 30 January 2008.  I assure you this will be a great night not to be missed.  Our environment officer will be ensuring our focus on sustainability last year is continued through our carbon neutral 07/08 campaign, a policy development and media reviews.

A few more events you can look forward to are a regional winery tour in Bendigo, lawn bowls, a specialist networking evening and a brewery tour.  YEA-V will again be participating in numerous school education activities to educate the next generation about our great profession.  Please feel free to drop a query or suggestion in at any time to yeavic@engineersaustralia.org.au.

Make 2008 the year you take the next step in your career through both personal and professional development.  You can be sure YEA-V will be here as a catalyst in your progression.

Mark Williams
YEA-V Chair