I am an electrical engineer and I work in a fertilizer manufacturing plant in the electrical section there.

Being a woman I somewhat find things difficult due to physical limitations, and because its a 24 hour duty as a electrical fault can occur at any time I have to work frequently after the working hours.

I want to change my department to procurement as its not non-technical and will give me job satisfaction, it doesn't involve any physical limitations and I have good communication skills for this kind of job.

Because its a govt. job departmental changes are done by the higher management. What should I tell them that they get convinced for my departmental change?

Reply by Peter Fisher, owner of your career change


If you are to succeed with your Engineer to Procurement Career Change, you first need to understand the requirements of the procurement job, but typically they would be something like this:

The normal tasks and responsibilities of a procurement engineer or purchase engineer will be responsible for applying and understanding the utility procedures, policies and standards as well as vendor, industry and regulatory information made by the corporate and site PE organization.

As such, the effective communication with employees of the PE, engineering, maintenance and operations organization is vital for the smooth running between areas of expertise.


To apply for jobs like this you must have excellent communication skills as well as outstanding negotiation skills.

The use of MS Excel is generally a common a requirement as is the need to be an all round computer literate.

You must be able to meet the delivery and execution of the procedures expected and meet the standards set by the company.

Having an efficient way of working by keeping the expenditure in line with returns is paramount. By meeting the demand of companies and effectively work with the company's partners. You will also be expected to supply customized solutions to the company's needs using the latest technology.


The desired experience usually includes the inventory of raw materials; interacting with traders, manufacturers and external agents, negotiating the best prices and following up with timely delivery is vital.

Experience in excise duty will be an advantage, alongside having quality communications with the depots, factories and quality control departments.

In order to convince higher management about your suitability to do this job in another department you must be able to show that you possess skills which come close to the requirements explained above.

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