Rahim Ahmad, P.Eng.

What is your personal background (hometown, schools, family, etc.)?

I was born in the city of Jhang in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. My dad came to Canada as a refugee when I was two. My mother, younger brother, and I rejoined my dad when we immigrated to Surrey, British Columbia when I was four. I attended several elementary schools and Enver Creek High School from grades 8-9 while we were in Surrey. When I was 16 our family moved to Warman, Saskatchewan where I finished high school and grew an interest in development (watching all of the residential development in the booming town around me), ultimately leading me to my career as a civil engineering consultant. I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Engineering with a degree in Civil Engineering.

Why did you choose engineering and what is your area of specialty?

My family moved to Warman, Saskatchewan in 2006, just as the province entered an economic boom. At the time, Warman was the fastest-growing municipality in all of Canada. This meant there was an incredible amount of residential and municipal construction all around me. As a teenager with a newly printed license, I spent countless hours exploring the new development areas around town. After grade 12, this led to my interest in pursuing an engineering degree. I am a civil engineer with a scope of practice focused on municipal infrastructure, project engineering and project management for multi-disciplinary water and wastewater treatment projects.

Where and when did you study engineering/get your degree and how would you describe your experience?

I studied engineering at the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan from 2009-2013. University was a grind, but looking back, it was a time that allowed me to learn a lot about myself while also building the discipline and work ethic that continues to serve me in my career to date.

What jobs/roles have you held as an engineer?

My first exposure to the engineering professional world was as a summer student at Associated Engineering in the summers of 2011 and 2012, after my second and third years of engineering. In these summers, I gained valuable surveying, contract administration, and resident engineering experience. Following convocation in 2013, I joined Associated Engineering full-time as an engineer-in-training in our Infrastructure Division in the Saskatoon office. In the last 10 years, I’ve served in various roles ranging from a resident engineering inspector, project coordinator, project engineer, project manager, and the acting manager of Associated’s Fort McMurray office from August 2020 to March 2021. In 2019, I transferred from our Infrastructure Division to Associated’s Water Division within the Saskatoon office. This transfer allows me to use my soft skills to work with large teams of multi-discipline engineers to deliver water and wastewater projects in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia for municipal and industrial clients.

What have you appreciated about your career opportunities and experiences?

Easily the most unexpected but most pleasant surprise about my career has been the opportunity to travel all across our province. I’ve had opportunities to spend extended periods in almost all corners of our vast province. This life experience has been invaluable in shaping me and helping me grow my communication skillset while gaining a firsthand view of the life of these beautiful communities.

Who has inspired or mentored you in your career? What insight or wisdom did they impart?

Greg Walker is a professional engineer and the group manager for Associated’s Alternate Delivery group in our Edmonton office. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Greg from 2017-2020 on an Alternate Delivery project for a confidential industrial client. Somehow, Greg saw some potential in me and found a way to nurture more out of me by giving me more responsibility and freedom, while simultaneously never letting me feel “alone”. He also took his tutelage beyond the direct project work and was perhaps the first person to openly ask me what my career aspirations were. I didn’t grow up with any professionals in my family and this was a thought that was unfamiliar to me but something that allowed me to take more control of the direction of my career once I had processed it. Aside from helping me learn to steer my career in the direction I want, he taught me to give back to peers and engineers younger than myself. This was something Greg practiced himself and is a lesson that I keep close to me every day as I work with more and more people younger than me.

Why did you decide to run for council?

After a push from a dear friend and mentor, I decided to run for council as an opportunity to get more involved within the professional engineering industry while also allowing me to fulfil my desire for community service. I wanted an opportunity to serve in the regulation of our profession by offering my skillset and perspective as a councillor, while also enhancing my knowledge and awareness of the regulation of our profession, here at home in Saskatchewan, and nationally.

What activities or interests do you enjoy outside of work?

I am a husband to my amazing wife, Alia, and dad to our four-year-old daughter, Shaista and I try to spend as much of my free time with these two going for walks and travelling. I also spend a significant amount of time volunteering with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama`at of Saskatoon in various capacities such as a youth leader and external affairs assistant.