What are your hopes and challenges for 2025?
What will be the main challenges for professional services consulting firms this year and what do business leaders hope will change? We asked ACE members to share their thoughts about some of the tough stuff and the changes that could make a difference as we head into 2025.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
Establishing a sustainable pipeline of work will remain the biggest challenge, at least for the first quarter. The lack of progress on getting vertical infrastructure redefined and back out to market by Government agencies in particular is very frustrating and still leading to a soft outlook in the new year. However, we are seeing signs that privately funded projects will start to fill the void in the new year.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
That the Government and its agencies decide to get on with the many urgent infrastructure projects, provide the confidence and support the investment required to make them happen.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
The biggest challenge will be the health of the market. We’ve seen over the past couple of years pretty sluggish performance in the economy broadly, but that has been particularly notable in the construction industry where we’ve seen a lot of pain – much of it unnecessary. There are a multitude of reasons for this; however, what we do see is that New Zealand is underperforming in many metrics compared to countries that we’d have historically considered our contemporaries.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I hope our leadership will reflect upon some of the consequences of these divergent decisions and begin to establish more evidence-based long-term investment. I’m hopeful that will happen and we’ll see a gradual but sustained recovery in sentiment and activity through 2025 and into 2026.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
Heading into 2025, I find myself oscillating between optimism and pessimism. Like many others in our sector, I crave pipeline certainty. The gap we've been bridging in the current economic and political environment has grown from something manageable to a massive chasm. Every time I see green shoots, another project gets cancelled or funding is redirected elsewhere. As a nation, we cannot afford to tackle our infrastructure deficit without getting creative. How do we use what we have to our best advantage? How do we target expenditure to unlock economic development? And how do we do all this in an equitable way?
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
Last year, I had the privilege of joining the Infrastructure New Zealand delegation to Dublin, Belfast and Copenhagen. It was truly eye-opening to see what nations can achieve with dedicated long-term planning. When the public sector sets a clear vision and collaborates with the private sector to realise that vision – transcending political cycles, finding common ground, and moving forward – it can lead to remarkable outcomes. This is the kind of progress I hope to see in our sector.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
We must remind ourselves of the importance of social contracts and obligations to each other. As a nation, we can only succeed if most of us reach our full potential, which requires equitable access to all the basics such as health, education, housing and opportunity. A healthy and productive society reduces the social burden and generates wealth that funds our nation.
As engineers, we have the opportunity through the projects we work on to think broader than just the technical and to challenge ourselves on how projects are delivered. Can we create training opportunities, grow local SMEs, or support employment initiatives for those at risk? These are all examples of ways we can help to bridge and influence this social divide.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
New Zealand is in the deepest recession in 30 years, which has been tough for many businesses and client agencies. I hope we see a solid pipeline emerge from the Government and optimism within the private sector to invest so there is a consistent pipeline of work. This will allow businesses to invest in themselves, deliver these projects well, and maintain a core mass of technical expertise in New Zealand.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
In our parks and reserves and forestry sectors, one of the most significant challenges will be helping clients navigate the effects and risks of climate change, including responding to heightened community expectations and regulatory requirements. The demand for sustainable, resilient solutions is increasing, yet aligning best-practice engineering with funding constraints and complex consenting processes remains a key hurdle.
At the same time, economic pressures are intensifying while client risk appetite is shifting in the opposite direction. Despite financial constraints, expectations around compliance, durability and long-term resilience are rising. Firms will need to demonstrate both technical excellence and operational efficiency – delivering high-quality solutions while ensuring costs are constrained and risks are well managed.
AI and automation will play a role in streamlining workflows, reducing rework, and improving productivity. However, expertise, critical thinking and strong partnerships will remain the real differentiators. For boutique firms like ours, this is an opportunity – to bring specialist knowledge, agility and innovation – offering high-value, tailored solutions without the overhead of a larger firm.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I would like to see the sector move towards greater cross-disciplinary collaboration. Partnerships between industry, councils, DOC, iwi and the wider community have already demonstrated the benefits of integrated, long-term thinking. This approach needs to become the standard.
With increasing financial pressures and a greater emphasis on risk management, clients are more selective in how and where they invest. Firms that succeed will be those that adopt the right tools, foster strong partnerships, and deliver both technical depth and efficiency-driven solutions – helping clients make confident, informed decisions despite economic constraints.
AI will also reshape engineering workflows, but it will not replace the need for expert judgment and sound engineering principles. The real opportunity lies in using technology to "touch things once" – minimising rework, optimising design processes, and freeing up time for high-value problem-solving. In my view, over the next 12 months, firms will need to focus on practical, integrated solutions. In our sectors this will mean responding to situations such as balancing public access, ecological integrity and infrastructure performance.
This is where boutique firms can excel – bringing specialist expertise, agility and strong collaborative models to deliver sustainable, well-integrated infrastructure solutions for Aotearoa New Zealand while helping clients navigate an increasingly complex operating environment with confidence.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
Many tangata whenua consultants often tell me about the pressures they face in consultancies. For us, code-switching is a daily reality, and it is exhausting. This means adjusting speech, behaviour and cultural expression to fit into environments that reflect Western norms. For example, speaking about Te Tiriti or discussing contemporary issues in Aotearoa that directly affect us can sometimes be labelled as "too political". This effectively shuts down meaningful conversations or the ability to express one's lived reality. Our whole identity as tangata whenua is political. We cannot separate whakapapa, whenua or our responsibilities to whānau, marae, hapū and iwi from who we are. Political rhetoric and legislative attempts to diminish who we are impacts us. We do not have the luxury of leaving parts of who we are at the door and picking them up again at 5pm.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
When we talk about culturally safe spaces, it requires leadership. We need environments where we can speak our truth, share our thoughts and be ourselves without fear of it hindering our career. In 2025, it’s time to move past the idea that things like karakia and mihimihi are the only aspects of our identity that belong in the workplace. We need to recognise the full scope of our knowledge as technical expertise. Our perspectives and ways of working are essential contributions to the overall success of consultancies. These contributions should no longer be defined by Western standards of cultural appropriateness. We all benefit when tangata whenua can be our authentic selves in our mahi.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
The first one is certainty of economic outlook – this financial year has seen a lot of fluctuations in the market and the economic tightening in line with government change has seen a significant change in market conditions. While there are more positive signs on the horizon, there is still a lot of work to do for organisations to safely navigate their way through these challenging times. Taking the plunge and staying committed to investing in people, in our relationships and in our communities will be where success is measured.
The second is competition – a number of players that may have traditionally operated in other areas or sectors are appearing in the market. A number of large companies are competing for smaller workstreams, and on the flipside some smaller organisations have grown through a challenging market, which has resulted in plenty of competition to secure that next job. In some regards this has been a positive, forcing organisations to re-evaluate and ensure they have been providing the value they once did. Staying nimble and providing fit-for-purpose services will be key to moving forward.
The third is consistency of regulatory authorities – overcoming the red tape and time delays has and will continue to be challenging. Moving infrastructure and development forward takes a collective approach for all involved. It's important that there is a consistent approach within territorial authorities when assessing district plan and building code provisions to provide clarity and certainty of what the end product will look like. As designers and regulatory reviewers, being collaborative and able to make effective decisions quickly is what the industry requires at the moment.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
The construction industry in New Zealand has always been renowned for its work ethic, long hours and can-do attitude. Looking at the stats over the last few years of how long it takes to get infrastructure and development moving, the effectiveness and efficiency at times could certainly be questioned. This could be due in part to burn out from the “boom years”, simple solutions being made overly complex, or simply just a “busy” habit. Regardless, the old adage of keep it simple, do what you say you will do, and have some fun along the way will bring a lot more positivity back into the market. People still need products, services and infrastructure regardless of the economic climate, so as a construction industry we just have to find a way of working together and getting things moving.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
Financial constraints are going to remain a significant factor. Lack of surety regarding funding for central and local government projects has been echoed by many private-sector clients, and has made it difficult for consultants to develop a level of confidence about the future and set budgets for the next financial year. The past year has been tough for many consultants, needing to adjust staffing levels and re-shape how businesses look just to keep the doors open. 'Surviving until 2025' means the sector has less capacity than before, at an inopportune time considering the bow-wave of work we can see coming.
However, with challenge comes opportunity! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel as interest rates continue to fall and the economic outlook improves. We will hopefully realise the upside of significant transformation the coalition government has enacted, for example as fast-track projects gain momentum, and local councils develop their approach to water services delivery. The organisations that have positioned themselves to capitalise on this period of change will reap the benefits of their foresight, amidst the challenges of demand for skilled professionals and rapid technological advancement.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
New Zealand has a significant historical infrastructure deficit to address, on top of adapting to meet changing needs. The engineering and consulting sector has a major part to play here, as trusted experts in solving these big, gnarly issues. If we are to tackle these immense challenges head-on, then we need to attract the best and bright minds, and more of them.
The hill that we as a sector need to climb is one of recognition – society needs to understand the work that we do, and value it. We need to broadcast this message not only to our clients, but to the next generation. My hope is that we continue to break down some of the significant barriers that discourage people from pursuing engineering and consulting as a career, from a perception of an intense academic pathway and stereotypes to values misalignment where engineering may be perceived as conflicting with sustainability goals. There is a lot of work to do, but the benefits are enormous.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
The biggest challenge will be staying ahead of uncertainty – whether it's keeping our people in our sector, dealing with economic pressures and budget cuts, geopolitical influences, shifting regulation or the race to net zero. As consulting engineers, we're at the centre of solving big complex problems, but with tightening budgets and an urgent need for innovation, the pressure is on to deliver faster, smarter, more resilient solutions without compromising our integrity, quality or sustainability.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I’d love to see the engineering and consulting sector fully embrace the opportunities ahead, whether that’s pushing the boundaries of digital transformation and AI, strengthening collaboration in our work and with our "competitors" (we're all in this together really), or driving real progress on the gnarly matters like climate resilience. We need to invest in our talent even though times are lean, champion bold ideas, and keep our people at the forefront of innovation and delivery. If we are given the chance to make a difference to communities, we won’t just keep up with all these changes around us, we will lead the change.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
Our biggest challenge is striking the right balance between managing rising operating costs, delivering a high value service to our clients in a competitive market, and maintaining strong investment in our people and the continuous improvement of our internal systems and processes. Although 2024 presented challenges, we’ve entered 2025 with a renewed focus. We're strengthening existing relationships, exploring new opportunities and partnerships, and developing AI-driven tools and processes to enhance efficiency and deliver greater value to our clients.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
Our hope for the sector centres on strengthening partnerships/relationships that drive innovation and excellence. We believe that local businesses delivering local projects are a great investment for New Zealand's future, creating relationships that ensure quality outcomes for infrastructure, homes, and amenities. As our industry evolves, we see client partnerships becoming increasingly vital—they're not just about individual projects, but about building lasting connections that foster innovation and mutual growth. This reflects our fundamental belief in creating loyalty and relationship-building/partnerships that can do it once, do it right and then do it again, both within our company and with our valued industry partners and clients.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
The current economic climate.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
That the sector embraces change around the National Seismic Hazard Model and the NZS1170 update.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
We have a highly skilled engineering and construction sector in New Zealand, but our people are leaving for overseas opportunities that provide more certainty and money. A combination of macro-geo-political factors, a stop-start approach to central and local government capital expenditure planning, and an overall de-industrialisation trend across the country plays into New Zealand’s uncertain times in the sector. Our challenge this year is to encourage our political leaders to come in behind the sector, understand the complexity of the issues facing the country and recognise the lead-in time required to design, construct and deliver essential infrastructure to support our communities. Engineers and scientists solve complex problems, and we need these complex problem solvers here in New Zealand. If we can provide confidence that the work to be done is recognised and funded, we can stem the flow of our people leaving the country.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I often joke that I’m not a fan of relying on hope. The engineer in me is more comfortable with a reliance on science, fact and sound risk management practice. I am hopeful though that some of this thinking will assist the leaders of the nation committing to a comprehensive, non-politicised, bipartisan national infrastructure investment strategy which will enable the sector to resource confidently for the coming decades. We need a ring-fenced funding mechanism that can drive more streamlined procurement processes and design/construction efficiencies through the sector. The constant uncertainty and boom or bust cycle we experience here runs counter to achieving this.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
One of the biggest challenges will be uncertainty in workflows – inconsistent government funding or cost-cutting and shifting priorities causing delays or cancellations in planned projects, making long-term planning difficult for those in the construction sector.
There are also challenges in the built environment – infrastructure and urban development projects require clear government commitments and steady funding. Without a well-defined programme of works, construction firms and suppliers face delays, increased costs and workforce uncertainty.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I'd like to see greater certainty in forward workload – a clearer programme of works from Government, especially in the health and education sectors, to reduce uncertainty and improve business confidence.
I also want to see fair and reasonable conditions of engagement – improved contract terms that ensure fair risk allocation between consultants, engineers and clients. More collaborative and transparent procurement processes, reducing unnecessary financial and legal burdens.
I'd also like to see greater recognition of the value of expertise, with fair fees and realistic project timelines.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
For me, the biggest ongoing challenge is productivity. It's one of those constant areas where, no matter the market conditions, we always need to focus on improvement. As consultants, we have a unique opportunity to push ourselves beyond our limits, consistently raising the bar. It's crucial that we continue enhancing our knowledge across all areas of the industry — whether it's cost management, building effective programs and methodologies, or delivering exceptional operational outcomes. By deepening our collective understanding, we can unlock more efficient solutions that will lead to better results for our country. It’s all about striving for excellence and pushing boundaries.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I've been a passionate advocate for smart construction since my days working with an offsite contractor more than 20 years ago, and it’s so exciting to see this vision coming to life more than ever. Over the past few years, there’s been a growing conversation around modern methods of construction (MMC) and design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) here in New Zealand, and I’m thrilled to see our clients are now fully embracing this approach. They’re recognising the incredible benefits it brings, from boosting efficiency – both in terms of cost and time – to enhancing health and safety and reducing waste. I’m hopeful that our industry continues to step up, supporting clients in bringing their ambitions to life. This is a pivotal moment for New Zealand’s productivity, and WSP is excited to be part of this journey.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of 2025?
With the drastic shift in the Government's approach to te ao Māori and iwi/hapū engagement, there's been a mass reversion from Crown entities on engagement approach, stripping down of engagement teams and siloing relationships. A lot of progress was made by previous governments to facilitate iwi/hapū sitting at the decision table which triggered the industry to improve its cultural competency. My fear is that after all this progress, companies will follow suit with drastic changes in their approach to cultural competency now there isn’t a clear commercial driver for them to do so.
What are your hopes for the engineering and consulting sector in the next 12 months?
I hope that through the progress of the last ten years we've learned to value Māori culture and that we continue down the path of partnership and understanding.