civil engineering

Ms Abdi and Ms Omar, who graduated from Plasma University Mogadishu's faculty of civil engineering, say under their firm all their projects have been approved by the local authorities.

Another friend, Veronica, 33, described the benefits she gets at a civil engineering firm in Houston as “better than the jobs I had right out of college, but by no means progressive.”

Just last month, Gadkari pointed to poor civil engineering practices - flawed road design, substandard construction and weak management - along with inadequate signage and markings, as key contributors to the alarmingly high road accident rate.

Those pensions are not huge, she says, particularly as her husband David was "almost forced into early retirement" aged 51 years old from his civil engineering role.

William Ibbs, a civil engineering expert and incoming chair of the peer group, said the potential funding cut will only add to the rail difficulty.