On behalf of AECOM and those here today I would like to thank you,

Andrew (Cleland), for your introduction and also acknowledge IPENZ for
hosting this exceptional gathering of the global engineering profession.

It is my pleasure to welcome you this evening and offer a few remarks
on behalf of AECOM. It is a privilege for me to be involved in the joint
celebration tonight. The 25th anniversary of the Washington Accord,
which has become the IEA and the IPENZ Centenary. Both
organisations have had a significant impact on me personally which Ill
touch on shortly.

My AECOM colleagues and I spend a lot of time thinking about the
impact of our work on the communities in which we operate. Solving
some of the challenges that matter most to our society is, to me, what
engineering is all about.

At AECOM we talk about Making Better Possible through our work that
creates, enhances and sustains the worlds built, natural and social
environments. That means trying to ensure that everything we do
improves, enriches, and leaves something of value for our clients and
the people that they work for.

Youll see on the back of your menus some examples of AECOM
projects which are making a big difference to communities they are part
of, including
the electrification of Aucklands rail network;
hundreds of post-earthquake residential housing assessments for
hard-hit Christchurch homeowners;
a water master plan for the Cook Islands which will bring fresh
potable water to its communities; and
a solar energy project in Rarotonga that offers communities there a
more sustainable form of energy generation.

So, when I was thinking about what I wanted to say this evening, what
really struck me was, that while we are here tonight to celebrate two
milestones, and will spend some time looking at what has been
achieved, times of celebration offer us a great opportunity for honest
reflection. With an eye on the successes and lessons of the past, we
always need to be thinking about the future and the impact we can have
as engineers.

My own professional background started at the University of Auckland
where I graduated with a bachelor of Engineering. I joined AECOM and
worked for a few years before my desire for travel took me to the other
side of the world.

As a graduate arriving in England, all of the jobs that I applied for
required proof of my academic qualification, and confirmation that it was
part of the Washington Accord. The fact that my degree was, helped me
to secure work with some of the leading engineering firms. After a
number of years working on a variety of challenging and interesting
projects, I returned to New Zealand and re-joined AECOM.

Since moving back to New Zealand, I have become a Chartered
Professional Engineer through IPENZ and I continue to thoroughly enjoy
working in engineering and seeing the difference we, as engineers, can
make.

My personal journey has highlighted to me the benefits and importance
of mobility in academic qualifications in an increasingly connected and
networked world.
I think that the industry now faces the challenge of students looking up at
the opportunities that the engineering profession offers and considering
a future in light of the smaller world that they are living in.

Tomorrows professionals are growing up now in a world connected in
ways we probably never imagined. Their workplace of the future will be
full of innovations that are only seeds of ideas today. They will be
working across time zones, cultures and regulatory environments. As an
industry we need to change with the times, and adapt and ensure that
we stay flexible, encourage mobility and inter-connectedness.

This flexibility will need to extend beyond academic qualifications to
professional recognition like our CPEng, United Kingdoms Chartered
Engineer and Americas Professional Engineer.

I have a real desire to see engineers acting and being recognised as
leaders in society. Engineers are well trained and well placed to help
guide and shape the communities in which we live and to solve some of
the problems we are faced with. We have some notable engineering
leaders such as Sir Ronald Carter, appointed to the Order of New
Zealand just last week in the Queens Birthday Honours. But in New
Zealand, and in some other parts of the world, engineers are
underrepresented in the boardroom, in politics and other areas of
influence.

At the FIDIC Conference in 2013, Sir Bob Geldof asked the question,
(paraphrasing) where the HECK have engineers been for the last 100
years? He noted that 100 years ago Engineering was the profession
and he challenged the audience to focus on engineers core business of
improving the well-being of society and the environment.

Following fallout from the Christchurch earthquakes, in New Zealand we
are facing challenges with perceptions of a lack of consistency and
quality and of being a poorly regulated profession.

The same challenges however, come with opportunities for growth and
increasing the exposure of engineering as an exciting and rewarding
career path to a new generation. Our challenge is to make the most of
the opportunities, to redefine engineering as the profession and to
show strong leadership.

I would like to leave you with a question to ponder as we celebrate these
fantastic milestones tonight. If we were sitting here 25, or indeed 100
years ago, at the launch dinners for these organisations, and we were
mapping out the future and what success will look like in 25 or 100
years, what would our goals have been and then, most importantly, are
we there yet?

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.