SANTO DOMINGO– Ana Nadal de García, a civil engineer with 39 years of professional experience, observes that the engineering profession is very different today. “To survive while holding multiple jobs, we are being considered skilled master builders,” she responds to the question of how she views the profession today.
The information management specialist, with 39 years of service, co-manager of Constructora García & Nadal SRL, presents the proposed and evaluated modifications to the public procurement and contracting law as a challenge for the profession.
“It is urgent that they be implemented in our country, and thus the doors would be reopened to access to jobs according to the experience and scope of each professional to give a better response,” said Nadal de García, who graduated in 1985 from the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), with 39 years of professional services and 26 years with his company.
Engineer Ana Nadal de García. (External source).
In answering questions for El Inmobiliario, on the occasion of "Engineer's Day", which is celebrated on August 14 in the country, he maintained that it is necessary to increase policies of support and integration of new firms into the evolutionary processes of engineering.
He considered that a group of engineering and architecture firms have achieved this “crossover” of services and access to advanced and updated engineering techniques and their application in the country and the area of action in the Caribbean, but it is not a topic that everyone has had access to.
Regarding the new generation of engineers seeking to enter the market, his assessment is: “It depends on their background, academically speaking; in general, they are very concerned with supposed specializations, neglecting to pay attention to experience and gradually increasing their learning and responsibilities alongside their academic preparation,” he noted.
In a profession traditionally considered male-dominated, engineer Ana Nadal de García has faced a variety of challenges. “From the beginning of my professional life, more than 30 years ago, my preparation as a woman has been a challenge to overcome. It requires great effort, preparation, professionalism, competitiveness, and constant updating to remain, thanks to the Lord and His blessing, in a male-dominated field without losing our identity as women, wives, and mothers, successfully fulfilling all our roles and maintaining a healthy balance between them,” she affirmed.
He opined that one point to consider in current engineering is the incursion into the world of sustainability, so that, in addition, actions and responses are environmentally friendly and include mitigating the impacts of climate change that so strongly affect "in our area of action".
