Authorized engineers are fighting for jobs with dumping prices

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a snake or dragon eating its own tail. This symbol represents the cyclical nature of things, self-destruction, and self-renewal.

Prague - The crisis in construction has intensified competition among authorized engineers and technicians. They sometimes fight for work with dumping prices, said Pavel Křeček, chairman of the Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers (ČKAIT), to ČTK. According to him, today’s 20th anniversary of the founding of the chamber is not being celebrated by professionals, without whom no construction project can be prepared, in a good time.
The chamber's head admits that the industry is currently experiencing the toughest period in the last 20 years. "Due to the lack of work, we are consuming ourselves. In competitions, dumping prices are being submitted, which saddens us greatly," he stated. Křeček gives the example of Germany, where a performance and fee schedule applies to authorized engineers, so it is not possible to reduce the price below a bearable limit. Something similar, at least for selected types of contracts, should also apply in the Czech Republic according to the chairman of ČKAIT.
     If companies fail to retain construction experts in the current situation, they may be lacking in the future, warns the chamber's chairman. Experts will be needed, for example, for the mandatory labeling of buildings with energy certificates, which is included in the government’s proposed amendment to the law.
     "From the perspective of ČKAIT, it must be stated that we currently do not have enough experts for the processing of energy performance certificates for buildings. This needs to change within the time horizon of the next five years," said Křeček.
     ČKAIT brings together around 29,000 experts in the Czech Republic, mostly from project and construction companies. The chamber legally represents the state in a delegated capacity. It grants authorization to experts, which is a necessary condition for carrying out selected activities whose outcome impacts the protection of public interests in construction. "Anyone who wants to apply for a building permit or zoning decision must have documentation prepared by an authorized person, engineer, technician, or architect. Buildings must be led by a site manager who is also authorized," summarized the significance of the chamber its chairman. After the Czech Medical Chamber, it is the largest domestic chamber. Membership in ČKAIT is mandatory.