At
my
very
first
job
as
a
Quantity
Surveyor,
I
remember
prompting
a
senior
colleague
to
join
a
scheduled
meeting.
He
looked
at
me
surprised,
stating
the
meeting
was
not
in
his
calendar,
turning
to
his
spiral
paper
desk
calendar,
which,
as
he
rightly
stated,
did
not
have
a
meeting
inked
in.
I
clarified
the
meeting
was
in
his
outlook
calendar.
He
turned
to
his
computer
screen
with
his
inbox
open
and
declared
that
outlook
didn’t
have
a
calendar.
Once
I
pointed
out
the
mechanism
to
toggle
to
the
calendar
function,
he
was
at
every
meeting
following.
At
the
time,
Quantity
Surveyors
were
still
using
scale
rulers
more
often
than
a
mouse.
For
someone
fast
approaching
50,
whose
initiation
into
tech
was
borrowing
a
Macintosh
computer
in
year
12
to
type
up
assignments,
I
think
of
myself
as
relatively
tech-savvy
and,
more
importantly,
willing
to
learn.
That
is,
until
I
sit
in
a
café
somewhere
and
see
a
one-year-old
dig
through
the
mess
of
bags
in
a
pram
and
pull
out
an
iPhone,
use
a
pin
code
to
open
and
then
navigate
to
their
game
of
choice,
all
while
their
parents
sip
at
a
latte.
I’ve
heard
almost
all
children
begin
expressing
their
gender
identity
at
around
2-3
years
old.
This
means
their
engagement
in
tech
is
happening
earlier
than
their
gender
identity
is
being
formed,
providing
an
opportunity
to
maintain
a
neutral
gender
playing
field
for
those
interested
in
the
field
of
technology.
However,
as
the
one-year-olds
are
getting
better
and
better
at
embracing
technology,
the
Construction
Industry
is
still
proving
to
be
a
slow
technology
adopter.
Technology
such
as
building
information
modelling
(BIM)
and
cloud
infrastructure
is
commonly
utilised
on
projects.
However,
maximised
advantages
are
infrequently
achieved.
Those
in
the
Construction
Industry
must
overcome
scepticism
and
adoption
apprehension
surrounding
AI
and
AR
to
reverse
the
downward
trend
of
the
industry’s
Labour
Productivity
Index
(LPI).
The
Construction
Industry,
including
the
quantity
surveying
profession,
is
dominated
by
people
like
me
or
people
with
even
greater
limitations
in
technology
adoption.
New
critical
roles
are
being
developed
where
the
existing
industry
leaders
suffer
significant
skill
gaps.
It’s
an
industry
reliant
on
experience
for
career
development;
however,
technology
in
the
quantity
surveying
profession
is
a
discipline
where
that
is
yet
to
exist.
While
women
make
up
51%
of
the
population
and
half
of
the
workforce,
they
account
for
just
16%
of
the
Quantity
Surveying
profession.
At
a
management
level,
that
percentage
is
even
less.
While
this
number
is
slightly
higher
than
the
12%
of
women
comprising
Australia’s
construction
workforce
at
large
–
the
current
skilled
worker
shortage
requires
an
additional
105,000
construction
workers
to
complete
current
projects.
By
encouraging
girls
through
to
STEM,
we
can
then
encourage
more
girls
to
enter
career
pathways
like
QS,
where
tech
is
being
increasingly
utilised.
Tech
also
allows
for
more
flexibility
in
construction
and
QS
roles,
making
them
more
appealing
to
women
that
may
also
play
primary
care
roles
at
home.
The
current
technology
skill
gap,
combined
with
the
workforce
shortage,
creates
the
opportunity
to
bring
more
women
into
the
industry
and
fast-track
their
progression
to
management/leadership
roles.
The
Australian
Institute
of
Quantity
Surveying
wants
to
get
the
message
out
to
females
that
huge
career
opportunity
exists
in
the
profession
for
females
embracing
technology.
Tech
will
create
an
unprejudiced
path
for
females
to
be
leaders
in
the
space,
as
the
use
of
tech,
particularly
in
QS,
has
a
massive
way
to
go.
In
Australia,
it’s
still
in
the
early
phase
of
adaptation,
so
there
is
the
possibility
for
huge
growth,
huge
potential,
and
it
leaves
the
playing
field
wide
open
for
males
and
females
equally.
About Author
