Engineering Council UK

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Engineering Council UK
Founder(s) Elizabeth II
Type Professional Organisation
Founded November 27, 1981
Headquarters 246 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EX, United Kingdom
Key people Professor Kel Fidler FREng (Chair), Andrew Ramsay (CEO)
Area served United Kingdom
Focus Engineering and Technology
Website www.engc.org.uk

Engineering Council UK (ECUK) is Britain's regulatory authority for registration of professional engineers and technicians, holding a register of these and providing advice to students, engineers, employers and academic institutions on the standards for registration and procedures for registration. It is responsible for the accreditation of educational and training programmes, delegating this responsibility to Licensed Member institutions.

ECUK is recognised by the British Government as the national representative body of the engineering profession in the United Kingdom, working in partnership with other engineering institutions. ECUK regulates the professions of chartered engineer, incorporpated engineer and engineering technician in the UK.[1]

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[edit] Professional registration in the UK

UK legislation is generally 'permissive' and, as such, the title 'engineer' is not protected by law. Registration by professional engineers is voluntary, and candidates are required to demonstrate a high standard of professional competence acquired through education, training and responsible experience in order to register. There are three categories of registration:

Assessment for registration is typically carried out on ECUK's behalf by a Licensed Member institution.

[edit] Licensed Member institutions

The City and Guilds of London Institute conducts on behalf of the Engineering Council UK a world-wide Examination for those who wish to meet the academic standard for Chartered Engineer and Incorporated Engineer,and for those overseas who wish to obtain a well respected British engineering qualification.

[edit] Engineering Council UK examinations

It is possible to meet Engineering Council UK's academic requirements for professional registration by taking examinations administered by the City and Guilds Institute. Examinations exist at three levels:

  • Level 5 Certificate, at the same level as the first year of a UK degree course
  • Level 6 Graduate Diploma, at the same level as the final year of a British BEng.
  • Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma, at the same level as the final year of a British MEng.

[edit] International registration

Engineering Council UK is a "designated authority", under the implementing regulations for Directive 89148/EEC. This directive is implemented for engineering in the UK by Statutory Instrument (SI) 1991 No 824 "The European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 1991". ECUK is a member of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI) ECUK has relationships with many similar organisations world-wide. It has responsibility for the UK sections of two international registers:

European Engineer registration entitles the holder to use the European-style prefix title EurIng; International Professional Engineer registration entitles the holder to use the suffix IntPE(UK). The qualifications required for international registration are similar to those required for CEng registration.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. EU Europe Open - EU to UK - Regulated Professions in the UK. Accessed on June 11, 2008.

[edit] Further reading