IPMA’s participation at the European Engineering Skills Strategy presentation in Brussels

IPMA was invited to the Closing Event of the Engineers4Europe (E4E) project in Brussels where Laura Lasaite, IPMA Chief Operating Officer, opened a discussion on the synergies between engineering and project management.

The event was organized by ENGINEERS EUROPE, the European Engineers’ Federation, which represents 33 countries and approximately 6 million engineers. It was hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), specifically the TEN Committee (Transport, Energy, Infrastructure, and the Information Society).

*Dirk Bochar and Laura Lasaite at the European Engineering Skills Strategy presentation in Brussels*

Opening remarks were delivered by Mrs. Baiba Miltovica (Latvia), Chair of the TEN Committee, and Mr. Pietro Francesco De Lotto (Italy), President of the EESC’s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI). The keynote address was given by Mrs. Themis Christophidou (Cyprus), Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.

The event featured the presentation of the E4E project results by Mr. Dirk Bochar, Secretary General of ENGINEERS EUROPE, including the launch of the publication “European Engineering Skills Strategy.”

This publication, based on two surveys conducted in 2023–2024 across 32 national engineering associations and gathering responses from over 7,700 professionals, identifies key trends and recommendations for the future of the engineering profession:

Growing demand for green-tech and sustainability specialists, especially in large-scale digital and green transformation projects
The need for adaptability in response to evolving professional roles
Repositioning the engineering profession to attract talent and address existing skills gaps
A strong pivot in curricula towards competence-based education and outcome-driven assessment
Promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration
Emphasis on continuous professional development and lifelong learning, including the introduction of micro-credentials, to ensure global competitiveness and future-proof skills

Our Chief Operating Officer Laura Lasaite opened a discussion on the many synergies between the engineering and project management professions, emphasizing their shared objective of delivering innovative projects that create value for stakeholders and society. She highlighted the overlap in key skill areas, including methodology-based project delivery, a focus on sustainability and agility, competence development, ethical standards, and professional frameworks.

*Laura Lasaite at the European Engineering Skills Strategy presentation in Brussels*

Laura encouraged EU advisory bodies to recognize project management competences as essential future skills to be integrated into engineering education. To reinforce this message, IPMA supported the event by providing participants with relevant standards and publications as handouts, underscoring the value of project management in the engineering domain.

Among the 96 participants, Laura was joined by Professor Ivica Zavrski, Delegate of the IPMA Council and member of the Finance Committee of IPMA, and a participant in the E4E project in his capacity as Professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb.

Laura stated:

“IPMA’s advocacy for lifelong professional development through its competence standards, including the reference guide on Sustainable Project Management and Individual Competence Baseline (ICB) standard for project management can offer meaningful contributions to the engineering profession. Micro-credentials could provide a practical pathway for professionals to develop targeted competences, supporting outcome-driven learning and enabling engineers to deliver tangible value in increasingly complex environments.”

Mr. Dirk Bochar, Secretary General of ENGINEERS EUROPE, said:

“A bit in line with JFK’s 1961 inauguration speech, I would say, do not ask what ENGINEERS EUROPE can do for you, but what you can do to ensure enough and future prepared engineers for Europe.”

The event also opened the door to potential future collaborations aimed at strengthening the recognition and development of both the engineering and project management professions. By working together, the participating organizations expressed interest in advancing shared goals around skills development, lifelong learning, and professional excellence across Europe and beyond.