Support for Technical Report Route candidates for ICE membership
LEAD ORGANISATION
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
PROJECT SUMMARY
This project set out to support the Technical Report Route (TRR) to professional membership of the ICE for those who possess the relevant industrial experience but who do not have the necessary academic background. The ICE's TRR to professionally-qualified membership enables successful candidates to demonstrate they have the same capabilities as those who have taken more traditional academic qualifications at bachelors and masters degree levels.
Within civil engineering, membership of the ICE is recognised as an international standard of quality and allows a civil engineer to practise in most countries of the world. The Technical Report Route to CEng and IEng status has been established by the ICE in recognition of the fact that there are people working in all parts of the construction industry doing work normally assigned to Incorporated or Chartered Engineers who do not have the appropriate formal qualification often because they lack the necessary academic background. The project allowed ICE to promote this route to professionally qualified membership to a number of companies and candidates in Progress South Central's area of responsibility and to explore the barriers to progression via this route.
Engagement of local employers of potential TRR candidates formed the first stage of the project and the ICE engaged employers both through direct contact of known employers and through advertising TRR workshops to all local members. Identification and induction of potential candidates then proceeded, either through encouragement of employees by engaged employers or via two presentations on the TRR route held in Guildford and Reading which were followed by discussions with interested individuals. Mentors were identified through contacts with local employers and through correspondence and meetings with potential candidates. A workshop entitled "The role of the TRR mentor" was offered in Reading and attended by fourteen potential mentors.
The project team clarified, for each potential candidate, the appropriate route for them towards IEng and/or CEng and gave advice and encouragement relevant to their chosen goal. Eligible candidates for the TRR were encouraged to prepare and submit their applications. Monitoring of potential candidates was carried out via telephone, e-mail and meetings.
IMPACT
33 employer organisations actively engaged with the project.
39 candidates were identified as suitable for the TRR to ICE membership, nearly double the number targeted at the outset of the project. Some of these had HNC or HND qualifications while the others held degrees in subjects not formally approved for ICE membership. The candidates were employed by organisations spread across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey and possessed between 6 and 31 years experience in the industry.
A total of 36 mentors were identified through the course of the project, 34 of whom were assigned to support one or more TRR candidates. These results exceed the target of 10 set at the start of the project.
Seven candidates were expected to submit their stage 1 TRR applications in March or April 2009 with a further 14 likely to submit their applications over the course of the summer. The remaining 18 indicated that they needed more time to prepare but do intend to progress. The main barrier to progression for the candidates concerned, identified through interviews with candidates and mentors, is likely to be time management, given that these candidates have heavy responsibility for current projects, which can make it a challenge for the candidates to find time to prepare their applications for TRR. Unfamiliarity with ICE requirements for demonstrating understanding of engineering principles through work experience is another potential barrier, which this project attempted to compensate for through dedicated workshops.
The following attest to the success of this project:
- Targets set for all specified outcomes have been exceeded
- Awareness of the potential of the TRR has increased with employers and individuals in the Thames Valley area
- The project has encouraged 51 new people to come forward and seek professional recognition, most by TRR but some by more traditional routes
- The ICE has been able to clarify the most common barriers to progression via the TRR and will be able to address those issues in its future programmes
LINK TO MORE INFORMATION