WORKS Minister Innocent Bashungwa has called on engineering technicians in the country to register with Engineers Registration Board (ERB) to gain recognition for the government to empower them.

He said the new approach to be implemented through Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) initiative will see young engineers and engineering technicians get practical training on handling small and big projects.

The minister made the appeal during the 6th Annual Engineering Technicians Day (AETD) held in Dodoma yesterday, noting that only 2758 engineering technicians are registered with ERB yet their number is much bigger.

According to Bashungwa, there are a lot of projects at local government authority level that local engineers can participate in but just a handful of them get double allocation of projects.

“It is important to register with ERB in order to get recognition and certification that can enable you to work both with local and international engineers on small and big projects” he said.

The minister called on engineers in the country to work diligently, professionally and maintain integrity, stating that incompetent people will not win government projects going forward.

Bashungwa also urged the Contractors Registration Board (ERB) to constantly review registration of members to ensure efficiency.

Earlier, ERB Chairperson David Manga said that engineering technicians are important stakeholders in the construction sector and national development.

He said that the board is working on review of some laws in efforts to help support local contractors and engineering technicians, among others.

“The board will cooperate with engineering technicians and work closely with the government on both small and big projects in the country” he said.

ERB Registrar Benard Kavishe said that the aim of the meeting was to help empower engineering technicians with new skills and knowledge for their projects.

In her welcome remarks, Dodoma Regional Commissioner Rosemary Senyamule acknowledged the importance of engineers and engineering technicians in building Dodoma city, especially after the announcement of government relocation to the capital city.