The Civil Engineering Academy Podcast

Developing New Leaders with Mark Oakeson

Feb 7, 2025

24:32

🚨 The Civil Engineering industry is facing a HUGE problem! ⚠️

Experienced engineers are retiring, there are not enough young engineers ready to step into leadership roles, and companies are struggling to fill in the gaps. 😨

Yep, it’s kinda bad (that’s the bad news), but there’s a simple fix to it (that’s the good news).

In this episode, Mark jumps back on to talk about this problem based on his own experiences as a manager at his firm, why this is happening, and more importantly, what companies and engineers can (read: should) do about it.

So, if you’re a young civil engineer looking to grow your career and step into these high-responsibility roles that are now vacant, this episode has lots of strategies for you to do just that. 💼

And, if you're in charge of an engineering firm struggling with this problem, this episode is packed with actionable tips to help you identify, train, and retain the next generation of leaders…in-house…before it’s too late!

Go check it out! 🎧

🧠 TUNE IN TO LEARN:

The problem with experienced engineers retiring and not enough young engineers
Why civil engineering firms wait too long to address leadership gaps
How to spot civil engineers with leadership potential early on
How to tie performance reviews to leadership potential (instead of just technical skills)
The 2 best ways to train engineers in leadership roles.
The single biggest and industry-wide challenge to developing leaders in-house
The (many) non-monetary ways firms can retain and develop top talent
Strategies for companies to train their engineers into leaders
How you can develop leadership skills — even if your company has no training
Why leadership skills are more important than (probably) ever before

✅ RESOURCES MENTIONED:

American Concrete Institute (ACI)

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)

Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) Trainings

Six Sigma Certifications

🎁 OUR FREEBIES:

The Civil FE Startup Guide

The Civil PE Startup Guide

FREE CFM® Course Module

📚 OUR EXAM PREP RESOURCES:

Civil Engineering Academy Website

Civil FE Review Course