editor’s Message

Developing tomorrow’s leaders

joshua Mutize, Pqs Construction Economist editor

onstruction Economist welcomes the new Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS) Council. From this past Council meeting, I have no doubt that we will be busy with the newly formed committees and other new initiatives.

I encourage all readers to read the President’s message in this issue. Ian Duncan, the new CIQS president, outlines his term’s plans and objectives. It is exciting to see so much energy from all Council members right from day one. These meetings go by fast and as Editor, and also reporter, it can be challenging to keep up with the vast amount of information. Now you know what my weekends are like, ‘surfing’ through all of the information out there for materials that may be possible to print in our magazine!

It is my intent this year to start partnerships with other Editors and reporters in the industry so I can start standardizing our magazine content. Below are areas that we are in great need of articles or updates for in upcoming issues: • Education Updates and CPD • Legal • Economics, Trends and Costs

Outlook • Industry Events calendar • CIQS Affiliate News • Electrical and Mechanical • Civils • Project Finance – Project

Monitoring, Risk Management I welcome any new articles, reports and updates. I would like to thank all of those who have contributed to past issues.

As I write this Editor’s message, economic trends are showing some lights at the end of the tunnel, which indicate a recovery. This economic down turn has been extremely hard on Consulting Quantity Surveying firms and Estimating Consulting firms because they were charged with the responsibility to quickly find more innovative ways to help their clients find cost savings and more efficient methods to build projects. Some of them also lost their jobs in the process. Regardless, whatever the future economic situation shapes up like, the professional quantity surveyor will be at the forefront in enabling construction growth and sustainability. After all, no matter what happens, the need to build or renovate will always be there because the necessities of life and business require buildings and infrastructure.

The outsourcing trend has gotten to such an extreme level that almost every good and service is provided by other people’s countries. Thankfully, we can not use other people’s houses, infrastructure or offices unless off course we all to move to their countries. Therefore, we will continue to BUILD here!

Education

One of the main reasons for establishing an Education column in this edition and upcoming issues is that at this point it is extremely critical that we keep learning and keep up with global challenges. Continuing Professional Developments (CPD) is the best way to do so. If you own a firm or manage a team of estimators or Professional Quantity Surveyors, not only do you have to continue your own personal development, you also have a responsibility for developing your team.

Another way is to learn a new skill in areas that you lack experience, maybe civils or electrical or mechanical. These are the areas that most employers and clients will continue seeing shortages of qualified professionals. On that note, I encourage you to read our Education Administrator’s, David Lai, Education article in this issue as well as future articles.

Developing tomorrow’s leaders

Well, the door has finally opened for young quantity surveyors to get involved even more than ever before. At a CIQS Council meeting this fall, Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders was a discussed at length. Orest Stachniak, Past President, even suggested introducing quantity surveying as early as to high school so students can consider this profession at the same time they are weighing-in on becoming an engineer, doctor or lawyer. He is right; the quest to become someone can actually start before you ever step on campus, by choosing the right college or university. With the growing number of programs at colleges and universities, how do you decide which one to pursue?

Another option is to promote quantity surveying internship opportunities to college students every summer. Even if some of the best offerings are very technical or focused on many construction disciplines or aspects, they can still make for a great experience. By putting these strategies into place, we will be designing an educational experience that will make our profession continue to be unique and desirable in the industry.

Council members were on board in forming a Young Profession Forum that will inspire leadership growth and continuously improve delivery of consistent education to our members. In this issue, we highlight an article by Sheri Thompson, one of the young PQS’ who attended PAQS. She kindly shares her experiences at PAQS as well as with the newly established Young Quantity Surveyors Group (YQSG) for PAQS. So get on board, get connected and stay connected!