Shaping the future of engineering

06/01/2023

The Engineering Council (EC) is marking 40 years of setting and maintaining standards, following its incorporation by Royal Charter in November 1981 to ensure that society continues to have confidence and trust in the engineering profession.
Alasdair Coates, Engineering Council CEO, said: “As the world faces significant, complex challenges and technology continues to develop at pace, the work of engineers is vital in shaping our future. 

“In that future, voluntary regulation is important because standards matter; the public has a right to expect engineers to be able to demonstrate their competence and behave in an ethical and sustainable way.” 

The most recent Ipsos MORI Veracity Index shows that engineers are second only to nurses as the most trusted profession. 87% of those polled trust engineers to tell the truth, a reputation the profession must continue to earn. There are currently over a quarter of a million professionally registered engineers and technicians on the Engineering Council’s Register. 

Every Chartered Engineer (CEng), Incorporated Engineer (IEng), Engineering Technician (EngTech) and Information and Communications Technician (ICTTech) has not only demonstrated their competence against an independent standard, they have also committed to maintaining and enhancing that competence through carrying out continuing professional development (CPD) and by complying with a code of conduct. Employers, clients and members of the public can verify an individual’s Engineering Council registration through its online tool, RegCheck.

The maintenance of standards for public benefit is at the core of the Engineering Council’s purpose. During its 40th anniversary year, the EC has made significant progress in developing higher-risk buildings registration to support the demonstration of competence in this safety-critical area. It has also established a Diversity & Inclusion Working Group and has begun work to share good practice on reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse engineers. The EC has also signed new Admissions Pathway Agreements with Spain and has continued to work with international bodies to facilitate the mobility and recognition of professional engineers and technicians, and has launched its ‘Engineering Ethics: Maintaining society’s trust in the engineering profession’ report, published jointly with the Royal Academy of Engineering. The EC has embedded the work of the Engineering Ethics Reference Group and has successfully been recertified against the ISO 9001:2015 standard, which is a benchmark for quality management. Following discussions with His Majesty King Charles, the EC has worked with the professional engineering community to provide support for refugee engineers, including signposting from its website and the development of a mentoring and work placement programme, as well as celebrating the achievement of the thousands of engineers and technicians who became professionally registered in 2022, having been assessed against the Engineering Council’s independent internationally recognised standard.

There is no legal restriction on who can call themselves an engineer in the UK, because engineering is not regulated by statute (with the exception of some safety-critical areas, such as aircraft maintenance, gas fitting and railway signalling). But only people successfully assessed against its internationally recognised standard can use the legally protected professional titles awarded by the EC.

At the end of its 40th year, The Engineering Council is looking to the future set out in ‘Advancing Regulation’, its 2025 strategy, as it works to support, develop and encourage a more diverse and inclusive profession, support a more digitally innovative profession, maintain, develop and promote an internationally respected standard and strengthen the sustainable and ethical core of the engineering profession.

As the regulator for the engineering profession in the UK, it moves forward in delivering public benefit by maintaining standards that evolve as the practice of engineering and society’s expectations do, supporting a safe, sustainable and ethical world.

www.engc.org.uk

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