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Decisions that will impact your child’s future career As early as 13 or 14, they’re faced with big choices about which subjects to drop or take on to achieve a level 2 qualifi cation. At 16 it’s harder still: some subjects that they may have enjoyed and been good at have to be abandoned.

Choosing to study STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths – will ensure your child keeps their career options open.

As a parent, you need to ask which subjects lead to a well paid and absorbing career, skills that will always be in demand and a professional qualifi cation that’s recognised all over the world. Engineering ticks all these boxes. In the coming decades building services engineers will, more than any other profession, be responsible for slowing the disastrous environmental effects of climate change.

CIBSE members are Low Carbon Heroes. They design, install maintain and operate the complex energy effi cient systems that create comfortable environments in the places where we live, work and spend our leisure – including heating and lighting, water, power, lifts and much more. Buildings account for almost half of the planet’s total carbon emissions, and services engineers harness the latest technologies, including renewable energy and recycling, to minimise our carbon footprint.

With the appropriate combination of qualifi cations and experience, building services engineers can join their professional body, CIBSE, and achieve Chartered, Incorporated or Technician status. These are equal to professional qualifi cations in any other fi eld, such as architecture, law or medicine. There are around 61,000 fi rms

in this sector, of which 3,000 are design consultancies employing Chartered Engineers. The remainder are mostly manufacturers and contractors, ranging from multi-national companies down to small businesses with a high degree of specialisation. The sector carries out £20 billion of work each year, roughly 3% of UK GNP. In any new construction project, building services typically account for 30 - 40% of the total cost.

www.cibse.org/careersCIBSE Careers Folder and Careers Factsheets are sponsored by CIBSE Patrons

A newly qualified Graduate starts on around £25k a year (more in London) and this rises rapidly as they move towards full professional status. There are also opportunities for Apprenticeships at 16 and 18, and clear routes up the career ladder from there.

In addition to the normal GCSE subjects, design technology is a good choice at 14. After 16, to keep their options open, it’s important that your son or daughter continues to study physics and maths. Level 3 qualifications (A level or equivalent) in these and related subjects will stand them in good stead even if they decide not to continue into engineering. But subject combinations that leave out maths and science will exclude you from an engineering career.

What’s your definition of a ‘worthwhile’ career? Building services engineers are making a vital contribution to global economic recovery. Their input is vital to all major public projects like London’s new Crossrail link. Their expertise is in demand for all major construction projects – hospitals, airports and shopping complexes worldwide. When a natural disaster occurs like flood, earthquake or hurricane, professional engineers are needed to restore vital services and set up emergency systems for power and sanitation.

If your son or daughter thinks engineering is not glamorous or exciting, they need to think again. TV shows, computer gaming, blockbusting movies, sporting events, sellout megastar gigs, lifesaving surgery, celebrity parties and catwalk fashion shoots… none of these happen without the services engineers who create environmental controls, lighting, security, refrigeration, connectivity and much more.

So whatever motivates you and excites your child in planning their future career, keep building services engineering in mind.

For more information, talk to your Careers Adviser or go to www.cibse.org/careers