Name shame

Arguably, not a lot when it comes to those in the services profession. ‘Building services engineers' - the phrase hardly communicates much to anyone not already familiar with the sector, does it? It certainly won't mean much to parents, careers advisers, school leavers and graduates… Most probably won't have even heard of the profession, let alone appreciate the complexity of work carried out under its banner.

And that's significant, because if people don't know the profession exists, how can they possibly consider joining it? Yet the sector is growing in importance and urgently needs to attract new and talented people to its ranks.

The role of the building services engineer too is changing, which the name needs to reflect. In the past they might have been handed a design into which systems to heat and cool the building were inserted. Now, with changes to Building Regulations and planning rules (News analysis, p16), an engineer's role is to work with the design team to optimise a building's form so as to design out the need for services in the first place.

There are those who will argue that it is not the name of the profession, but a lack of appropriate initiatives that has failed to attract people to the sector. They might be right. In which case, policies aimed at attracting school leavers, such as the new diplomas for 14- to 19-year-olds developed by the sector's training organisation SummitSkills, may prove to be the answer (p102).

Another solution to the skills shortage might come from CIBSE itself. The institution has just overhauled its careers strategy to focus its efforts, in partnership with organisations including SummitSkills and the CIC, on attracting people to the sector.

Or perhaps it is the status of engineers that needs to be addressed. After all, in the UK in particular, being an engineer of any description does not have the same kudos as being a doctor, or even a lawyer.

A change of name might be just the right way to spark new interest in the profession. But what would be the right name to cover such multifaceted work? Answers on a postcard please…