Engineering Europe n° 17 - 2024
EFCA - European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations
EFCA is the only federation to represent the engineering consultancy industry in Europe.
EFCA joins EVOLTA's celebrations
The EFCA Director General had the pleasure of attending EVOLTA's 44th Anniversary last week, to hear the CEO Nele De Smet - also an EFCA Board member - talk about some of the firm's achievements. Highlighting in particular its commitment to innovation and sustainability, Nele gave some examples of recent projects and the video link can be found below.?The firm is based in the recently renovated business area of Tour and Taxis, which also proved a welcoming venue for the reception, attended by Evolta employees and guests.
EFCA highlights importance of competitive EU
In the latest edition of Building Engineering Services, the industry magazine for Ireland, Director General Sue Arundale talks about the tricky trade-off?between achieving a more sustainable built environment on the one hand and maintaining competitivity in the European sector on the other. Legislation helps to push us towards climate goals, amongst other objectives, but too much regulation or too heavy a burden carries the risk of our sector being unable to compete with, for example, US consulting engineering firms, who benefit from incentives and – in any case – work in a country that has a different, more “risk-rewarding” culture. ?Her article also looks ahead to the US elections. It was written before more recent developments, which potentially change the outlook.
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Show of support for Ukrainian member ICEG
Over the last two and a half years, EFCA has been constantly involved in actions and initiatives aimed at supporting the sector in Ukraine. A dedicated internal Ukraine Support Group was established in 2023 to help the Ukrainian engineering sector and we are in continuous dialogue with the European Commission, in particular the unit working on support and reconstruction initiatives for the country. Testament to this strong cooperation is our meeting last week, during which a representative from the EC team in charge of the Ukraine Investment Framework discussed with EFCA members how they can contribute to the successful implementation of this instrument. EFCA will continue to support the efforts of its members and other stakeholders - and in particular its member the Interstate Consultant Engineers Guild (ICEG) - right up until the major reconstruction projects have been completed.
EFCA on Target with Pact4Skills Commitments
EFCA attended the Pact for Skills in Construction meeting yesterday. The lack of skilled personnel is very high on our agenda, hence our participation in this initiative. Last year, we committed to a number of actions specific to both the European Year of Skills 2023 and for the longer term. These included an annual award to a young engineer for an outstanding project, supporting the Ukrainian engineering sector etc. Looking back, we are pleased to be on target to fulfil all our commitments. Given that engineering is such a skilled profession, requiring years of study and extensive competences, EFCA will continue to be part of the Pact4Skills for Construction, and will support all relevant skills-related initiatives.