YP Study Trip to Brussels

Wed 10/10/2007 11:00 to Thu 11/10/2007 16:00

First Young Professionals Meeting a success

On 10-11 October 2007, EFCA ran an inaugural event to bring together Young Professionals from the engineering consultancy sector across Europe. The meeting was well attended, attracting 45 YPs from 13 countries, and was supported by the presence of EFCA President Yann Leblais, two Board members, Neil Sandberg and Mátyás Borostyánköi, and the EFCA Secretariat.

During the event, the participants were informed about the role and functioning of the European Institutions, with particular focus on current and upcoming legislation (such as the Eurocodes, life cycle costing, energy efficiency etc.) which impact directly on their companies and the profession as a whole. They had the opportunity to debate with Members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Irish Permanent Representation, on topics including the Internal Market, raising the visibility of the profession, and comparing business conditions across Europe. They also viewed a plenary session debate in the European Parliament. In addition to this EU focus, the Dutch Young Professionals ran a session on sustainable development, and the UK’s ACE Progress Network was presented.

In conclusion, it was agreed that impetus is required to attract and retain young people into the engineering consultancy profession. There could be many mutual benefits in setting up a European network of Young Professionals, including the sharing of best practice, professional development, and networking as a means to encourage cross-border business and partnership building.

The participants are now consulting with each other to plan future initiatives, and have already achieved the first target of setting up a virtual network for YPs

Read the Meeting Report.

Group picture

Location: Martins Central Park Hotel, Boulevard Charlemagne 80 , Brussels