The acceleration of Myanmar’s economic progress has a direct impact on the labour requirements for every sector as companies look for a workforce with the right skills and experience to take them forward. This is especially true when it comes to the engineering sector. This month JobNet spoke with U Aung Thet Paing, Vice-President of Young Engineers Committee under Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) for his views on the state of the engineering sector in Myanmar, what the society is doing to contribute to future success and advice for young engineers.
What programs are carried out by Myanmar Engineering Society for developments of local engineering industry and young engineers?
The Young Engineers Committee under Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) has two key areas of focus. The first is related to academic development. Our program is for those engineering students who want to continue their education by joining Master and Doctoral degree programs. They can learn how to be a researcher and how to prepare for study in other countries. The other is related to career development. This program is for those engineers in practical engineering fields. For example, we annually hold forums about engineering careers for young engineers. This year forum highlights engineering careers. The theme is “Challenges and Opportunities for Young Engineers in Academic and Career”. This forum will be held in Mandalay. It is organized in cooperation with the four branches of MES: Mandalay branch, Lashio branch, Monywa branch and Nay Pyi Taw branch. You can register for the forum now. The purpose of this forum is to discuss what career preparations need to be done by young engineers. So, our Young Engineers Committee mainly conducts the academic and career development programs for young engineers who must be under 35 and degree holders.
What engineering jobs are in currently in high demand in Myanmar?
Regarding this question, we look at the best performing industry sectors in Myanmar and their future prospects for further success. For instance, construction in our country has risen dramatically in recent years. Now, it is falling off slightly for a number of reasons. If construction business is good, there are more job opportunities for civil engineers. Just as with the IT industry, which has been booming in our country, resulting in more jobs for IT engineers. Speaking of the electricity sector in Myanmar, we can see some considerable improvements. And, as the government has committed to the target of 100% electrification by 2030, there will be jobs for electrical power engineers.So, engineering job opportunities depend on what sectors of a country do well. There are also some jobs for chemical engineers in food and drug administration sector. There are few opportunities for mechatronic and electronic engineers here, but, these jobs are popular in foreign countries.
Some engineer degree holders make other careers in non-engineering fields. Could you share your opinion on why don’t they choose to pursue engineering careers?
Today, most of engineering students will be engineers when they get Bachelor of Engineering (B.E). Before B.E, they try to get Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech). If they get B.E, they will be engineers. They will be technicians if they get B.Tech.
Previously were a few engineering universities and the number of engineers was less than today. Now, there are many engineering universities. So, the annual number of graduates in engineering is increasing. Whether these graduates pursue engineering careers depends on their passions and skills for engineering. First, the demand of engineers for the country’s development needs to balance the number of engineering graduates. If the number of engineers is more than the demand for engineering jobs, there will be fewer chances for them to get the jobs. That is not about their engineering skills. Next, they do not choose engineering careers by themselves. In our country, students can attend engineering universities only if they get high marks in their high school final examination. Having an engineering degree makes a good impression, however they may not have any plan to do engineering jobs. So, it is difficult to say they do not get the jobs because of being unskillful. After graduating, they will not automatically be professional engineers. They firstly engage as apprentices. According to the Myanmar Engineering Council Law, they have to work as apprentice engineers for four years. These four years are training periods for them. During these periods, they learn practical knowledge applying their theoretical study. This will make their careers develop. Thus, we cannot say that the fresh graduates are not skillful in engineering unless they work as engineers. In short, this depends on the demand and the passion for engineering jobs.
What skills do fresh graduates improve to stand as professional engineers?
After enacting the Myanmar Engineering Council Law, fresh graduates have to register in the Myanmar Engineering Council if they are going to take up engineering jobs. This means registered engineer (RE). After that, they have to register for registered senior engineer and professional engineer.
Some graduates follow an academic path, joining Master and Ph.D programs. For career path, fresh graduates have to work as apprentice engineers for four years before RE. Within these years, they learn job related skills to be engineers. As there are many engineering majors, for example, civil engineering, mechanical engineering etc. Once they start working, they will become more expert in the nature of the work in their respective fields. It is important for fresh graduates to understand that they will not become professional engineers as soon as they graduate from university.
Frankly speaking, engineering works are tiring at first. But, work experience makes them skillful in their careers. When we do job interviews, we see different types of students. Some students are smart. When we ask them if they have anything else to ask us about the job, they have many questions about it. We can see their passion for engineering. They study hard at university. Some get engineering degrees. And, they apply for engineer jobs. In interview, some do not recall much about their majors and jobs. Sometimes, they do not remember what subjects they learned. As I was saying, there are many engineering schools and many engineers. Some know what they want to be and where they are skillful, but, some do not. Thus, their engineering skills are defined by the certificates from Myanmar Engineering Council.
There are some engineers who go abroad to work. Some of them think of coming back. In our country, what opportunities are there for them?
It depends on time and reason. The reason why they want to come back may be that they are offered good salary in Myanmar or family affairs. When they decided to go abroad, they saw the great potential for their careers there. At the present time, businesses in Myanmar certainly have the potential for growth. So, they may think to come back. Regarding to whether they should come back or not and whether there are good opportunities in the country, they should think of what industries are booming here, as I was saying. This is because it depends on time.
Could you give any advice to local young engineers?
As I mention above, if you intend to start an engineering career, you should be more passionate about your career than money. Whether you are a mechanical engineer or a civil engineer, you should ask yourself if you really want to be an engineer and learn engineering related matters. I say this because every employer assesses candidates for their motivation and positive attitude towards leaning in job interviews. They always welcome that kind of young engineers.
Thank you for your helpful advice.