AS READILY AS James Kwan, president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, plugs his profession, he is the first to admit that engineers, just like the rest of Hong Kong, are going through a rough patch. 'These have not been the best of times for Hong Kong engineers,' he said. 'There's less construction, fewer government projects and private sector construction is not as aggressive as before.' But he remains optimistic, and said he would continue to recommend an engineering degree to students inclined towards scientific and technical subjects. 'We're still very active in convincing Hong Kong youths to take up engineering, so there will be a continuous stream of talent in the sector,' he said Engineering graduates would do well, however, to look north for employment opportunities, he said. While there will always be work in Hong Kong, there are better opportunities for career advancement in the mainland, where growth promises to remain exponential for some time. 'With the growing mainland economy and infrastructure being the priority, there is increasing demand for engineering talent on the mainland,' Mr Kwan said. The Hong Kong Institute of Engineers has secured reciprocal recognition with China for structural engineers, an agreement with which Mr Kwan is particularly pleased. This was only the first step towards the goal of reciprocal recognition being secured for all engineering disciplines, he said. There are 1,000 members of the institute on the mainland but Hong Kong engineers have not been able to join design institutes in China or be directly responsible for engineering design and planning work. The agreement will change that. Mr Kwan said demand on the mainland for Hong Kong engineers was growing 'because we bring in expertise and adherence to international standards'. Hong Kong engineers have reciprocal agreements with Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and, in 2000, Mr Kwan was the first Chinese to be elected president of the Institution of Gas Engineers in Britain. But working on the mainland has the obvious advantage of proximity. And, Mr Kwan said, the language barrier was coming down rapidly as more Hong Kong students learnt Putonghua and travelled to the mainland. He said mainland authorities were fully aware of the quality of Hong Kong engineers and had been just as enthusiastic in granting reciprocal recognition. They realised this would allow Hong Kong engineers to make full use of their expertise when working on the mainland by 'directly participating in project management, from planning, design to implementation'. 'Hong Kong engineers often find themselves in a situation that plays to their strengths. They use their management skills, their ability to co-ordinate ... to draw on different disciplines,' he said. Hong Kong and China Gas (Towngas), which has 28 joint ventures on the mainland, had found gas engineers were in great demand, he said. Professional gas engineers would 'facilitate the development of our core business on the mainland'. Even with the central government's imposition of macroeconomic controls in an attempt to prevent overheating on the mainland, particularly in sectors such as real estate, Mr Kwan was confident there would continue to be opportunities for Hong Kong engineers. 'While demand in Hong Kong declines, demand on the mainland is on the rise,' he said. He said most Hong Kong engineers on the mainland were employed by joint ventures, which paid them salaries comparable, for the most part, with Hong Kong wages. Reciprocal recognition might result in a slight decrease in average salaries as more Hong Kong engineers were employed by mainland firms, but this would be offset by the lower cost of living on the mainland, he said. Also, China's rapid economic growth would ensure that wages, particularly for skilled professionals such as engineers, would continue to rise. The first group of reciprocally recognised structural engineers should be in place by the end of this year.