INGENIEUR
regulatory practice to ensure that registered
engineers meet the world’s standards. There is
impetus for the Government to develop this huge
potential in the export of engineering services.
8.0 The Worldwide Market for Professional
Engineering Services
Despite Government’s recognition of the export
potential of professional engineering services, indepth studies on the size of the overseas market
have been almost non-existent. Without in-depth
studies of the overseas markets there is much
scepticism and cynicism amongst Malaysian
engineering service providers.
The International Federation of Consulting
Engineers (FIDIC) based in Geneva is an
organisation comprising of national organisations
of various countries throughout the world. Malaysia
is represented by its national association; the
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia
(ACEM) which receives its report on the state of
the construction industry.
In accordance to FIDIC, global construction
output in 2010 was US$6 trillion. Global GDP in
2008 was about US$61 trillion and construction
output is 10% of the GDP which makes construction
an important industry for Governments to use as
part of its economic polices.
The professional engineering services demand
worldwide was US$270 billion in 2010, this rose to
US$330 billion in 2013. The engineering services
are mainly in the following areas;
Transport 54%
Industry & Commercial
buildings & facilities
20%
Land development
14%
Drainage, water & waste
12%
The global market is all about quality, integrity,
sustainability, innovation and capacity building. A
number of interesting observations from FIDIC on
engineering consultancy practices is summarized
as follows:
●●
Firms are becoming more international
and their workforces more multinational
and mobile;
●●
Developing countries are embracing
knowledge intensive professional services
by leveraging technology and offering low-
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cost solutions that hitherto would have
been provided by well-established design
and engineering consultants;
The international market place for
consulting engineering is becoming more
competitive as new players enter the
market; and
Fees earned in international markets over
the next three years will see significant
growth in the Middle East, China, the
Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and
Africa.
These observations indicate that there
are opportunities for Malaysian professional
engineering service providers to compete in the
market place. The market is not in the developed
regions of the world such as in North America or
Europe but in our own backyard; Asia and ASEAN.
There are many sceptics amongst Malaysian
engineering service providers that they can export
their services. One major argument is that this
sector lacks the capacity to compete on a bigger
scale because Malaysian service providers are
predominantly made-up of small firms. Even the
largest Malaysian consulting firm is small when
compared with the “giants” of the industry. Since
Malaysia wishes to emulate Australia which has
the lowest contribution of services to her GDP and
its size in terms of population is not dissimilar to
Malaysia, the Association of Consulting Engineers
Australia (ACEA) has reported that:
●●
Estimated revenues from professional
engineering services amount to A$18
billion per year contributing to 1.77% of
Australia’s GDP in 2006/7;
●●
Of which A$700 million is earned from
export overseas;
●●
Employment in Australia in the engineering
consultancy industry has risen by 58%
since 2001/02; and
●●
Real growth of this industry is around 9% a
year, nearly three times the rate of growth
in the Australian economy.
The professional engineering service industry
in Australia is similar to Malaysia being dominated
by many small firms where more than 90% employ
fewer than 20 people and are able to flourish in
an open market. Although Australia may not be in