Thinking of becoming a Chartered Engineer?

IMechE information provided by WBLE Swansea University
Thinking of becoming a Chartered Engineer?
For a professional engineer, gaining Chartered Status is a key milestone. Many branches of
science and engineering are governed by a professional body with a Royal Charter. For
example, The Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE) and the Institution of Civil
engineers (ICE). Professionals working in these areas can apply to become members and,
later, fellows of these bodies, indicating their professional status.
What is a Chartered Engineer?
Lots of people call themselves engineer’s, ranging from the person that comes to fix your
boiler, to someone that designs bridges. These people are correct to call themselves
engineers of a sort, but the level of skills and experience can vary greatly among them.
Education and practical experience are both taken into consideration when an engineer
applies for Chartered Status. A Chartered Engineer is an engineer who has reached a high
level of competency and commitment to professionalism in their particular branch of
engineering. In the UK, the Engineering Council set the skills and competencies required to
become a Chartered Engineer.
What are the benefits of becoming a Chartered Engineer?
The benefits of becoming chartered are many and vary for each individual and each
specialism within the broad field of engineering. They will however, generally, increase your
promotional prospects, your earning power, gain respect from people both within and
outside of the engineering industry and many more. In short you will gain:
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The status of being part of a technical elite
Recognition of your expertise by professional peers
International recognition of your qualifications
Improved career prospects
Greater influence within your organisation and industry
Access to life-long learning
With these benefits comes a level of responsibility to the engineering profession and
yourself with rules and regulations which must be followed.
Once you have gained achieved chartered status, you can put CEng after your name.
Institution of Mechanical Engineers - IMechE
For registration as a Chartered Engineer, it is necessary for candidates to demonstrate that
they are professionally competent through education, training and professional practice.
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Work Based Learning in Engineering
IMechE
IMechE information provided by WBLE Swansea University
Career Structure – Chartered Engineer
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Gain good grades in Physics and Mathematics
Achieve masters accredited training
Gain Professional Experience
Complete application process – form, professional review & interview
Awarded Chartered Engineer Status (CEng)
The educational phase of the application is probably the most structured of the three stages
to complete. You will need to get yourself on an engineering course accredited by
the Engineering Council. The professional accreditation is delivered by the Engineering
Council which is the UK’s regulatory body for the engineering profession. To gain entry to an
accredited engineering degree course you will normally need to have A2 level Maths and
Physics. A Masters level degree or equivalent is required to meet the educational
requirements for the chartered Engineer application.
Once you have achieved your educational background to engineering, you will need to put
your training into practice. Not only will you need to develop your engineering skills but also
skills in management of technical work and people, business, and professional judgement.
These skills will take several years to develop. The way you gain your experience and
competencies will vary by individual, company and institution – you will need to do your
research to find the most suited route for you.
If you get the opportunity to work in different environments you will find this very beneficial
as you will gain experience much more quickly and cover a wider skill base.
For most professional engineers, chartered status is likely to come in their late twenties,
perhaps 10 years after leaving school. It takes that long to gain a higher level degree and to
have the necessary experience. This may seem an awfully long way off, but planning ahead
will certainly be beneficial.
Perhaps the best reason to become a Chartered engineer is that it demonstrates a desire to
take responsibility for your professional development, of taking pride in your professional
achievements, of going the extra mile.
In everyone's journey towards Professional Registration there are three stages.
1. Meet the academic requirements
2. Demonstrate your competence as defined by UK SPEC
3. Attend a Professional Review Interview
IMechE provides support to candidates at every stage in this process and are available to give advice
if needed.
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Meet the academic requirements
Experience will be taken into account when applying to become a member of the Institution
and each individual will be reviewed on their own merit.
Since 1997 it has been necessary to demonstrate University Masters-level knowledge and
understanding, most commonly by the completion of the 4 year undergraduate MEng
degree, or by gaining an appropriate masters degree following the completion of a 3 year
bachelor degree in engineering or a cognate subject.
Once you have registered with the Institution as an associate member, you will need to
complete a qualification checker which the Academic Assessment Committee (AAC) uses to
assess your academic achievements for registration. The AAC can either accept your
qualifications as they are, or recommend further steps to enable you to meet the criteria,
when a Further Learning Application is then necessary.
To get the ball rolling it is a good idea to complete the qualification checker on the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) website.
Completing Further Learning to meet the CEng academic requirement means that you will
be gaining the knowledge and understanding to Masters Level. You’re learning acts as a
foundation to your Initial Professional Development which is a separate requirement for
registration.
There are a number of ways that Further Learning can be completed and our Further
Learning Guidelines explain the different routes available to achieve this:
 An accredited postgraduate academic route
 An approved Company Further Learning Scheme
 An approved Individual Further Learning Plan
If you find that the best option for you is either a postgraduate qualification that does not
hold accreditation or perhaps a combination of modules, courses and/or work based
learning, an Individual Further Learning Plan is the route for you to follow.
Within your Plan you will find that Further Learning is set against QAA benchmark
statements, and will include knowledge gain in the following areas:
 Deepening of Engineering and Scientific knowledge to Masters Level
 Broadening of Technical & Non-Technical knowledge
As a guideline, the total amount of study advised for a CEng Learning Plan is a minimum of
1200 to 1600 comparative hours of study.
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To apply for approval of a CEng Individual Further Learning Plan, you will need to download
the CEng FL Plan form. Use the Guidance notes for help in deciding the elements you can
include in your plan. There is a Sample plan for ideas on items and information to be
included. http://www.imeche.org/membership/professional-development/Gainingregistration
If you need further guidance on specific areas of your Plan you are concerned about, please
visit: http://www.imeche.org/learning
Should your Plan include modules or training courses, you would need to supply full
descriptors, handbooks or brochures with your application. These are usually obtainable
through the course provider upon request.
For further information please visit: http://www.imeche.org/about-us/contact-us or by post
to:
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Further Learning, Accreditation Department
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
1 Birdcage Walk
Westminster
London
SW1H 9JJ
UNITED KINGDOM
Demonstrate your competence as defined by UK SPEC
You can use the qualification checker, available on their web site to assess your current
competence against Engineering Council UK-SPEC. Competence Profiles are available to help
you to assess your suitability for Membership.
Attend a Professional Review Interview
The interview process does not require you to develop your skills any further, they simply
require you to demonstrate those that you have learnt.
The application process can vary by institution but normally consist of preparing a
professional review report, filling in an application form and attending an interview.
How-to-apply
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IMechE information provided by WBLE Swansea University
How can we help?
A Chartered Engineer is expected to have a comprehensive understanding of new and
existing technology, practices and standards in their field of engineering and an ability to
successfully deal with circumstances which fall outside of the range of current knowledge or
practice. Hence the need for continuous professional development (CPD).
Many of the modules we offer under the Work Based Learning Programme contain the
features necessary to evidence CPD; an ideal way of providing further learning evidence for
consideration by the AAC.
From an employers’ point of view, faced with a choice between similar applicants, one
chartered and one not, which one would you choose?
For further information on the Work Based Learning Programme at Swansea University
please contact us, details below.
Project Manager: Stella Ryde
Telephone: +44 (0)1792 602625
E mail: [email protected]
Project Administrator: Kim Bray
Telephone: +44 (0)1792 606441
E mail: [email protected]
Work Based Learning
College of Engineering
Room 342 Grove Building
Swansea University
Singleton Park
Swansea
SA2 8PP
Project e mail address [email protected]
http://www.swan.ac.uk/engineering/wble/
Swansea University
Work Based Learning in Engineering
IMechE