Where are the engineer’s engineers?

There was once a time young engineers used to take pride in taking apart an engine or transmission or a differential and then putting it back together. Some would do similar things to machine tools. They would proudly show off their greasy hands and dirty overalls. Engineering students built their own small motorcycles with parts bought from the scrap stores (pocket money would allow only that), and used it to shuttle between classes and workshops and the hostel (and of course cinema theatres as well). Project work used to be building innovative gadgets challenging those in the market. Discussions would be centred on how things work or what was the scientific/engineering explanation for a phenomenon and they would quiz each other and debate it. Probing and thought-provoking questions, the why and what of things, would come up in canteens. Popular Mechanics , Popular Science used to be the sought after magazines.

My efforts to get a suitable mechanical engineer to promote the implementation of a new technology product into the auto segment was a revelation and proved to be an arduous and disappointing task because I just couldn’t find a person with the right aptitude. I wasn’t looking for experience or superior knowledge. Just good basics so he/she could pick up this new technology quickly and go forward.

Many engineering colleges churn out degree holders by the thousands, yet there was hardly anyone who met my requirement. So much so that sifting through this horde proved to be time-consuming and downright frustrating. The former vice-chancellor of Anna University E Balagurusamy hit the nail on the head when he recently said the country needs engineers and not engineering graduates.

I just couldn’t digest the thought of engineering graduates seeking jobs in an auto industry without knowing the difference between a forge and a foundry, or between piercing and blanking, let alone being possessed of knowledge of these processes. When you probed, you found that most had opted for engineering because admission was easily available, it ensured a certain level of employment — and the job helped them command a premium in the marriage market. Have they operated any machine? Have they produced a part as simple as a shaft with different diameters, on their own, in a workshop? Have they done any welding? Have they run any engine tests? No.

And the reason they applied for this job? “..Because it is in the automotive industry and I love cars.”

Making drawings, reading and interpreting them, skills so important and fundamental to any industry, are lacking in most graduates even though computer-aided systems have provided a lot of simplification, flexibility, versatility to the entire process from the times of the T-square, the slide rule and theodolites (apologies to the younger generation, they may not even know what these are: instrument with a rotating telescope to measure horizontal and vertical angles). Clarity, cleanliness, and standardisation of drawings never seem to be taught in colleges and as a result they have to pick this up on the job. So when a global company decides to offload some drawings on a design centre they have to spend money and time training them first.

I admit that today it is time for robots, electric vehicles, drones, and so on, and these are being built by students in premier learning centres. No doubt these are admirable skills, much needed, in keeping with the times, and require to be nurtured. But these are few and limited. In most cases, these students go on to do a PG degree in management.

The problem of finding a good engineer is aggravated because some of those who do well in engineering ultimately land up in banks or administration, or sales jobs earning probably a lot more, which actually brings me to the basic question: What ever happened to the passion for engineering? I was shocked the other day to find a number of ECE graduates selling cell phones in showrooms. Some even seemed happy doing this for a career. Maybe they were doing it because of economic necessity but what a gross disservice to the education they received.

The way I sorted out my problem of finding a good engineer was by connecting with a motor racing team which had a group of boys with a thirst for anything automotive, the drive to build their own racing car, and the willingness to roll up their sleeves and get under the chassis. They were not looking for a “job”, they were committed to their passion. I took one of them and trained him. This engineer has not looked back. The strong foundation in basics helped him go up the ladder swiftly and stay with the automotive industry.

The writer is an independent consultant

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