The paper sets out the tasks undertaken in a structural engineering design office and assigns them to the technologist or to the technician. It examines existing and future educational facilities at degree level for the technologist, and at a lower, more practical level for the technician. It considers how ability can best be judged with special reference to tests of practical experience. Reference is also made to a 1966 manpower survey in the fields of engineering, to pronouncements made by the Council of Engineering Institutions and to recent decisions of the Council of the Institution of Structural Engineers on qualifications and examintions. The text gives guidance to students seeking to qualify during the current uncertain conditions, and to colleges on the pattern of non-degree courses in structural engineering. The paper concludes by examining future trends in examinations, practical training and related matters.
Kenneth Severn