Engineering boom jobs of the next 20 years

Creation Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 GMT

Engineering boom jobs of the next 20 years

GET the lowdown on the careers that China's booming economy will make the most lucrative in the world over the next two decades.

Mining services and engineering:

Geology, mine engineering, metallurgy, process and chemical engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental science, hydrology, and structural engineering.

The growth of Chinese cities is resource-based and the nation is now the world's largest consumer of aluminium, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, tin, iron ore and coal.

The Chinese want to be as independent as possible in the supply of these basic commodities - resource security - and are looking at their own mines.

Australia is a world leader in mining technology services and equipment, making our companies among the most efficient extraction operators in the world.

Civil engineering, green architecture, urban planning, project and construction management, interior design, surveying, interior architecture and environmental science.

China is determined to ensure proper management of its rapid urbanisation, much of which is being done by private enterprise. Its urban population has risen by 446 million over the past 30 years and is now increasing at a rate of 14 million a year.

This means up to 50,000 skyscrapers will be needed between now and 2025, a huge construction program which the Chinese wants conducted on principles of efficient energy use and sustained livebility for residents. That means lots of outside service providers, and Australia is internationally recognised as a leader in the relevant fields.

Opportunities exist for Australian architecture and design companies to help Chinese developers create energy and water-efficient buildings, incorporating solar passive design and grey water management systems, and using recycled building materials.

Environmental Services:Environmental science, hydrology, resource management and environmental planning

Chinese environmental degradation is serious, costing the economy an estimated eight per cent of the nation's GDP each year. It's the product of decades of unrestrained economic growth.

A Yale and Columbia universities' index rates China a lowly 121st internationally for its performance in such areas as climate change, air pollution and water access.

The Chinese government now wants its economic activity to be more environmentally sustainable through reductions in environmental damage and through remedial work on existing problems such as pollution from heavy metals.

Australia's environmental protection and biodiversity standards are among the highest in the world in the world, as are our water conservation measures here, on the driest continent

Agribusiness

Rural sciences, agricultural economics, agronomy, plant and animal breeding, biotechnology, logistics, biologists and ecology

Feeding 1.3 billion people will always be a major concern for China, which currently is the second largest food and beverage market after Japan.

As the Chinese middle class expands, the types and quantities of food in demand are changing and increasing in sophistication. Consumers want higher quality, modern packaging, freshness, better nutrition, safety and purity guarantees.

And of course the Chinese want to be as self-reliant as possible, with food security being a top priority. On March 31 Beijing saw the launch of a campaign called Strive for a Bumper, where the Agriculture Ministry's chief economist Zhang Xiangyu said food security was the top priority.

To do this, the Chinese will need those skilled in improving farming and agribusiness capabilities, with Australia a likely source of that skill.

Our agricultural productivity has increased annually by an average of 2 per cent over the past 50 years through ermployment of science-based farming

Source: news.com.au