What is a Civil Engineering Technician?

How a Civil Engineering Technician makes a difference

Every bridge, building, road, or tunnel we use has the expertise of civil engineers built into it. Their expertise helps to make the villages, towns and cities we all live and work in, and they play an ever-increasing role safeguarding and improving environments to preserve them for future generations.

Civil engineering technicians support this design and creation process. They plan, manage, and coordinate the building phase of civil engineering projects, and provide construction teams with project specifications and information. You could be the technician who contributes to remarkable things being built that improve people’s lives, while also considering the environment.

A man and woman discussing and annotating engineering drawings.

The type of work a Civil Engineering Technician will do

Producing and modifying engineering diagrams and models
Collecting and interpreting technical information and carrying out calculations
Using digital technologies to prepare and present designs and visualisations
Confirming designs meet all health, safety and welfare requirements
Following environmental policies and finding ways to achieve environmental ambitions
Supporting construction projects with relevant technical information
Meeting with clients, architects, building contractors, and local authorities to present and collaborate on plans

Useful skills

Logical thinking

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Communicating complex ideas

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Problem solving

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Technologically minded

Skills & attributes

What you can bring to the Civil Engineering Technician role

An enthusiasm for buildings and infrastructure and how they can change people’s lives for the better.

A passion for finding new solutions to environmental challenges.

The ability to think a problem through from different perspectives before selecting the best way forward.

What you can bring to the Civil Engineering Technician role

A knack for making difficult things easy to understand and communicating them to others.

A strong sense of responsibility for carrying out tasks accurately, paying attention to small details.

The confidence to use new technology and a talent for creating things on a computer.

What you can bring to the Civil Engineering Technician role

This role could also be right for you if you have any of the following interests:

- building, making and fixing things

- exploring problems and finding answers

- sustainability

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*according to ONS

Future career opportunities for a Civil Engineering Technician

You could start your career in a consultancy where you work on a range of different projects for UK and international clients. Or you might decide to work for a large building contractor responsible for overseeing the delivery of major projects.

With experience you could lead a team of technicians, or decide to specialise in the planning of a specific kind of infrastructure or building. Alternatively, you could decide to become a programme manager, overseeing implementation of every part of the process from design to delivery.

How to become a Civil Engineering Technician

There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.

But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:

Options available after GCSEs:

A T-level in Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction.
An apprenticeship as a Civil Engineering Technician.

More options available after that:

A Higher Technical Qualification, such as a Higher National Certificate in Civil Engineering for England.
An apprenticeship as a Civil Engineering Senior Technician.

Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.

A little more about the role

Exciting features...

The range of building and infrastructure projects civil engineering technicians can get involved in is extensive. Parks and public spaces need planning, just as much as tunnels and roads. Schools, hospitals, and museums need just as much thought as bridges and offices. Water, waste and coastal engineering systems require just as much civil engineering expertise. And with the constant evolution of technology, such as augmented reality, designs can be experienced in full before they are built.

Other job titles...

This role can also be known by some other job titles including:

Civil Infrastructure Technician
Structural Technician
Construction Technician
Design Technician
Engineering Technician
Site Technician