There is a growing concern in the Consulting Engineering community regarding our ability to attract the "best and the brightest minds" into one of the most challenging industries in Alberta.

As an industry, we must be able to offer salaries to graduates at a comparable level to those being offered by others. Similarly, we need the ability to attract and retain experienced staff by offering similar remuneration as is given in other industry and professional sectors and continue to keep them motivated and rewarded.

The following outlines some of the issues our industry must address:

1. Inability to attract graduates at current salary levels.
2. Staff moving to other industries at higher salaries.
3. Exposing staff to clients who hire them away at higher salaries.
4. Recent APEGA Value of Professional Services November, 2000 puts consulting engineering at the lowest remuneration level of industries surveyed.
5. CEA's salary survey confirms the erosion in our industries salaries as compared to others.

In an effort to turn the situation around, the CEA Board of Directors embarked on an aggressive and very successful campaign in 2000 to raise of the salaries of engineers in the CE industry.

See the progress made since that time.

Compensation Survey

The Consulting Engineers of Alberta has partnered with Western Compensation & Benefits Consultants to produce a comprehensive report on salaries, benefits and employment practices of Canadian consulting engineering firms.

What is covered?

The survey covers over 70 positions including engineering & technical positions, executive, management, information technology, finance and administrative positions.

The report includes an:

• Analysis of base salary and total cash compensation
• Analysis of short-term incentive and profit sharing payouts
• A year-over-year review of increases to base salaries
• Analysis of non-cash components of compensation such as:
  • group insurance benefits
  • retirement plans
  • salary administration practices
  • work week & overtime
  • maternity/parental leaves
  • vacation entitlement
  • performance management systems
  • perks
• Analysis of anticipated increases to salary ranges & base salaries

Timeframe

The report is available to both participants and non-participants. Data is collected annually between May 1st and August 31st with results being released in October.

Participants save 50% off the purchase price and CEA member firms save an additional 15%.

For further information go to:

www.wcbc.ca/surveys/consultingengineers

or contact:

Nancy MacLeod
Western Compensation & Benefits Consultants
604.683.9155 or 1.800.781.2411
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