DIFFERENT ROLES THE PUBLIC

SERVICE ENGINEERS SHOULD

ASSUME DURING THEIR CAREER
Induction Training Programme
of
Sri Lanka Engineering Service (SLEngS) – 2021

02-11-2021
Eng Badra Kamaladasa
Former Director General of Irrigation
 Phases in your career

Stages Period (roughly) Responsibilities

Initial career- 1-5 years Capacity development
Training to become a corporate
member

Professional qualifications
5-10 years managerial roles- Project

Academic qualifications
Implementation
Middle 10-20 years Project Planning
management
Senior 20 -25 years Strategic Planning
Management
Higher 25 years Policy decisions
and above
 Different roles
■ Trainee ■ Contract Manager
■ Environmentalist ■ Procurement officer

■ Sociologist ■ Store Manager

■ Economist ■ Trainer/visiting academic

■ Financial Manager ■ Mentor

■ Researcher ■ Various roles in Disciplinary Inquiries

■ Legal Expert ■ Trade Union member/Leader

■ Member of Professional organisations
■ Motivator
(National and International)
■ Manager ■ Welfare officer
■ Leader ■ Other….
■ Chairperson of a meeting
Trainee

■ Education doesn’t end with a degree,

masters, PhD or with the membership of
the IESL
■ You obtained a knowledge on a particular
specialty, but you need to know bit of all
other specialties for you to become a good
team player and a leader
■ You need to acquire many skills, that
requires both scientific knowledge and
intense practice
 Environmentalist ■ Most of the projects you
implement will have certain
impacts on the environment
■ Changes in the environment will
have consequences to your
projects/work
■ You will have to be sensitive to
Therefore, should know those and take action to
about the environmental minimize
sensitivities ■ You need to talk to environmental
specialists to get their insights
 Sociologist
Therefore, you need to know
general overview about the
sociology
■ Your projects will have
different impacts on different
segments of the community
■ Actions of different segments
in the communities will have
an impact on the project/work
you are doing
■ You may have to get the help
of sociologists to identify those
 Financial Manager
■ Your projects will have total project cost
and annual financial allocations
■ Pending the receipts of cash you may You need to know
need to implement work/ offer contract ■ Departmental and government
financial regulations
■ Petty cash allowable to use may be
limited ■ Financial Practices- how a
payment to be made
■ Advances to be paid for services may
change depending on the work ■ Authority of payment and validity
of your signature
■ You need to get support of an Accountant ■ The documents to be
(may be a book keeper) to review maintained
financial procedure followed
■ Summary report to be submitted
 Economist
■ Your projects will have an impact
on the economy
■ Economic trends will have an ■ You need to know how
impact on your projects the economy works
■ You are spending money that
could have invested in other ■ How the economic
alternatives and should be decision making done
satisfied that adequate returns
are generated from the ■ How to allocate
investments you make resources for maximum
■ You need to get the economists benefit
to analyze economic parameters
in above
 Researcher ■ We live in a changing world
■ New diseases crops up, new
trends emerge in technology,
• You need to know demography, economy and many
about research more spheres
methodology ■ It is necessary that we become
• Engage in research vigilant on those
programs and get ■ But also, engage in research to
experience find out what response we
should make to get the maximum
• You need to develop and to avoid associated risks
writing skills
 Legal Expert
■ We work within a legal
system
■ We are empowered by the
legal system and also
restrained by it
■ We need to know the legal
systems to understand how
we could move forward using
the legal provisions
■ We need to know the
constitution
■ Acts related to our work
■ Administrative
Regulations (AR) &
Financial regulations (FR)
Motivator

■ You need to appreciate people who do good work

– Do it in public
– Idea is to repeat the good behavior by the person as well
as others
■ You need to be critical of people who err
– Do it in private
– Idea is to correct
Manager

■ We are supposed to manage ■ We need to know the

operations and also projects differences between
■ We are supposed to manage – Normal operations
the resources in managing and projects
operations and projects – human resources and
■ We need to know how they are other resources
allocated to achieve both – efficiency and
efficiency and effectiveness effectiveness
Leader

■ You need to know how a leader differs from a

manager
– Manager attend to daily operations while
the leader looks at how the operations
could be redesigned to get better results
– Manager look inside the organization to
maintain performance while leader look
at the surroundings to reposition the
organization
■ You need to become leaders who will take up
challenges to change the systems and
organizations
Chairperson of a meeting

■ It is a crucial role
■ Many have failed in this role
■ You need to know the science and
art of managing and conducting
meetings
 Conflict ■ There are conflicts between
individuals and also
manager between groups
■ You may have to play the
role of resolving those either
• Listening skills as a mediator or as a party
• Communication skills to the conflict
Procurement Officer
■ Member of Technical
Committees for Procurement in
your own organisation or
different organisations
■ Member/ Chairperson of Tender
Boards /Procurement
Committees
■ You need to know about the total
procurement process
■ Responsibilities of different
players of the procurement
process
– Needs identification officer
who will initiate procurement
– Officer preparing bidding
documents
– Member/ Chairperson of the
Technical Evaluation
committee/ Tender Board
Store Manager
■ You need to know the resources
requirement
■ Need to know basic stores
management principles (eg. First in
first out etc)
■ You are responsible for managing
emergencies where sufficient stock
of the sources be available
■ For construction site or office, you
need resources to carry out daily
tasks
■ Sufficient buffer stock need to be
there
■ Reduce, Re-use, recycle -3 R
concept (Recent addition- Refuse)
 ■ You need to train/coach
Trainer/visiting people working under you
academic ■ You will be asked to make
presentations on what you are
doing
• You need Training planning ■ You will be asked to assist the
skills training department in training
others outside your own unit
• You need communication/
■ You will be invited as visiting
presentation skills lecturers or resource persons
by the Universities, Technical
colleges etc.
 Mentor ■ People under you may face
problems which they find
impassable; they may
approach you
• You need listening ■ Once you become a senior
skills engineer you may be asked
• Ability to understand to mentor assigned
the problems of others individuals by the
organization you work
 ■ Inquiring officer
Various roles in ■ Defending officer
Disciplinary ■ Witness giving evidence
Inquiries

• You have to be thorough

with
• Disciplinary process
• Who has the power to
discipline people
• E-code – second part
Trade Union member/Leader

■ You might be a member of trade unions (not one but

several)
■ You may have to assume responsibilities of leadership roles
in a trade union
■ Conduct ethics when you are a member of Executive
Committee
 Member of Professional organisations
(National and International)

■ IESL ■ Participate when ever get

■ Organization of Professional Associations the opportunity
■ SL Association for Association Society ■ Get involve in discussions
■ Sri Lanka National Committee of Large dams ■ Write and present papers
■ Sri Lanka Geotechnical Society ■ Share the local knowledge
■ Structural Engineer’s Association with international
■ ……. community
Welfare officer

■ You should take the ■ Childcare

responsibility of looking ■ Sports
after the welfare of the
team ■ Reading facilities
■ Social events
■ Annual cultural events
Other roles

■ Different roles in election duties

■ Senior Presiding Officer
■ Assistant Returning Officer
■ Returning Officer
■ Member of the Jury
 HOW TO PREPARE FOR
PROFESSIONAL REVIEW (TO BE A
CORPORATE MEMBER OF
INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS
ELIGIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL REVIEW EXAMINATION

Recognized Training Responsible Experience

■ Design ■ Construction
■ Design
■ Construction ■ Research
■ Management
 Recognized Training -Objectives
■ The professional conduct of a Chartered Engineer, as set out in the Code of
Ethics of the IESL.
■ The need to provide suitable safety measures in every Engineering project.
■ His/her responsibilities to his/her employer, colleagues, other Engineers and
to the society at large.
■ The importance and relevance of his/her theoretical knowledge to the
design, construction, operation, maintenance etc. of the service, which the
employing organization deals with.
■ The general problems affecting an industrial organization such as financial,
economic, commercial limitations; constraints brought about by the quality
and number of staff, availability of material resources and the need to
conserve the natural environment, and the operational and maintenance
requirements that may affect engineering decisions.
 Report-Contents
■ Summary: periods covered during Recognized Training and
Responsible Experience showing durations, tabulated -Format
given.
■ Training and Experience Section -An account of the significant
areas covered during the period of Recognized Training and
Responsible Experience
– Log book
– List of CPD courses attended
 Recognized Training -Objectives
■ The vital importance of good industrial relations, safety, health and
welfare, both in relation to employees and the general public.
■ The need to understand the point of view of others and to promote
good personal communications at all levels.
■ The need to exercise sound judgment and to accept responsibility for
it.
■ The need to develop his/her activities to the best advantages of the
profession.
■ Environmental and Social issues, an awareness of the current laws
and rules pertaining to these and current trends in these areas.
Responsible Experience

■ after satisfying Recognized Training requirements

■ experience gained in a responsible position in the field
of Engineering specialized in and its applications,
■ under the guidance of a Corporate Member of the
IESL,
 Responsible Experience
■ Must have not less than 24 months responsible experience in an
approved organization and in a responsible position
■ in the field of Engineering - specialized in and its applications.
■ receive guidance from a Corporate Member of the IESL.
■ to broaden the candidate’s understanding of engineering practice in the
relevant discipline.
■ experience should be varied
■ candidate should have the opportunities for engaging in tasks of gradually
increasing responsibility.
■ shall not be of a routine nature and must involve the exercise of
engineering judgment, display of original ideas,
■ taking of engineering decisions with responsibility to cover both technical
and managerial aspects of his work.
Competences-gain through a mixture of
education and professional development
■ Five core Competences
1. Understanding of engineering principles
2. Practical application of engineering knowledge
3. Managerial Involvement
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Professional conduct
 Evaluation criteria-2
Managerial
Involvement Interpersonal skills
■ Management of significant ■ Demonstrates written and oral
engineering works communication skills
■ Responsibility for making decisions ■ Ability to present and discuss ideas
■ Identifies and assesses / plans
engineering risk
■ Treats people with respect
■ Ensures team members have
appropriate skills ■ Ability in team building and
negotiating activities
■ Contribution to continuous
improvement via quality
management
Log Book
■ Start entering your experience from initial stage of your carrier
■ It is like a maintenance of a diary
■ Collect photographs- will be useful not only for this exercise but
for many other future interviews/ higher studies
■ Write your genuine observations/ feelings- not only technical
matters, but any other social or environmental matters
■ records being certified by the Engineer in charge of the work or
the Mentor, at the end of each period of training and responsible
experience.
■ Should be used to describe details of problems which arose and
how these were overcome, and any other notable features of a
particular training period.
Chartered Engineer - capable of assuming
personal Professional responsibility

■ For analysis and application of Engineering principles

– Investigation, Planning, Design, Construction, Operation, Maintenance, Management
and Development of Engineering works
– Or plant, or in Engineering Research and/or Engineering Education
■ For involving with the identification of solutions to problems, management
and direction of high-risk and resource intensive projects
■ Communicating ideas clearly, concisely and intelligibly to others.
■ To exercise of original thought and judgement,
■ Be able to supervise the Technical and Managerial work of others.
■ Professional judgement is the key feature of Engineer’s role