COVID-19: How can engineering firms survive the downturn?

Will my company survive the coronavirus crisis? Will my job? These are the questions that are on every engineer’s mind right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, possibly forever. Social isolation, trade restrictions and work from home has become the new norm.

Australia is facing one of the worst economic fallouts in our history, with the latest ABS data recording a 5.3 per cent plunge in construction jobs over the past six weeks. Nationwide, job losses exceed 800,000. The engineering profession and related industries such as construction have so far avoided the direct impact of the crisis. But as secondary and tertiary effects ripple throughout the world, we know the sector will be squeezed.