Report lays foundation for registration revalidation

Registered engineers and technicians have an obligation to keep their skills and knowledge up-to date – risking loss or suspension of registration should they fail to do so. However, there has never been a requirement – or an opportunity - for them to have their registered status revalidated. Last year, ECUK’s Registration Standards Committee set up a working group to look at the potential for some form of voluntary revalidation scheme. A report containing its recommendations has now been circulated for comment by ECUK’s 35 licensed members and will soon be considered by the ECUK Board.

The group found that the right type of voluntary revalidation scheme could bring benefits to registrants, employers and the engineering profession in general. For the individual registrant it would be a means of enhancing the value of his or her award, while employers would be able to show added evidence of the competence of their staff and would thus stand to gain commercially. For the engineering profession, the introduction of revalidation would demonstrate its concern for maintaining standards and also put it on a par with other UK professions and overseas engineering organisations that have already gone down this path. However, the report acknowledges that there has been no survey of employers’ views on revalidation, yet their support would be necessary for it to succeed.

Revalidation based on an audited CPD (continuing professional development) return is the most widely used system among other professions and is the model favoured by the working group. It has the particular advantage that lifelong learning is well established in the engineering profession, with ECUK’s licensed members already required to have policies on CPD and arrangements for promoting it. They also have to have a mechanism for monitoring the CPD of registrants.

Importantly, the working group has recommended that the CPD return should be accompanied by a statement from the applicant. In it the latter would be required to spell out how the learning and development undertaken has served to maintain and enhance his or her competence.

The group’s report does recognise that a growing number of registered engineers and technicians already undergo re-licensing or re-registration under other schemes (such as that administered by Structural Engineers Registration Ltd in Scotland and the Gas Industry Registration Scheme operated by Lloyds Register). It consequently advises that a revalidation system should be able to take this into account as evidence of the required CPD.

It is proposed that revalidation should normally be carried out every five years, with provision for it to be done more frequently if necessary. It is further recommended that before any scheme is formally introduced there should be a trial period in which approaches to CPD validation are piloted.

Looking much further into the future, the working group’s report raises the possibility that if a voluntary scheme were to be successfully established then ECUK and its licensed members might wish to consider making revalidation mandatory for all new registrants after a certain date.

ACE agreement

Technical Qualifications Validation Ltd (TQVL) – a company set up last year by ECUK and a number of its licensed institutions – has signed a service provision agreement with the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE). Under the deal the two organisations will offer a package of TQVL services to ACE member firms and affiliates who need help in checking the credentials of engineering job applicants. ACE’s membership is made up of 830 firms of various sizes and operating across a range of disciplines.

TQVL will initially be providing three distinct services, the individual fees for which are specified in the agreement:

1) Checking whether a qualification cited by an applicant actually exists and whether it appears on ECUK’s list of accredited engineering degrees and other courses;

2) Establishing the equivalence of a foreign qualification with one gained in the UK;

3) Establishing the existence or equivalence of a qualification and checking that the applicant holds it.

On request, TQVL will also verify whether a named individual appears on the ECUK Register of Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians – a free service that anyone may make use of.

TQVL was formed after research by ECUK revealed that 30% of employers found it difficult to verify the CVs of applicants for engineering and technical posts. Many simply lack the time and/or personnel to properly check candidates’ qualifications and experience. Yet serious consequences can result from appointing people who have exaggerated their abilities, including loss of business and long-term damage to a company’s reputation. TQVL is able to offer a solution to this dilemma because of its access to the wealth of data and expertise within ECUK and the latter’s 35 licensed institutions.

Further details of the services offered by TQVL can be obtained from: Dr Michael Sanderson: msanderson@engc.org.uk

ECUK joins work permit panel

ECUK has accepted an invitation to sit on the Engineering Sector Advisory Panel of Work Permits (UK), the agency that is responsible for issuing work permits to people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Its presence will enable the profession to influence government thinking on the skill-sets required to practice as an engineer or technician and will reinforce the delivery of international accords.

Under the ‘fast track visa scheme’ – as it is popularly known – priority is given to foreign workers with skills that appear on the Shortage Occupation List. The panel that ECUK has joined has the task of identifying any emerging skills shortages in the engineering sector and advising whether they should be included on the list.

On ECUK’s recommendation SEMTA (Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance) was also recruited on to the panel. Together, the two organisations bring valuable additional knowledge and experience; in the case of ECUK this includes an unrivalled understanding of international qualifications and their equivalence to UK awards.

The government has recently announced that it is to completely overhaul the UK immigration system. The current plethora of different work permits and entry schemes are to be replaced with a single points-based system aimed at only allowing in those economic migrants whose skills benefit the UK. The more skills you have, and the more those skills are in demand, the more points you accrue, thereby increasing your chances of entry.

One result of this major reform is that the various sector advisory panels will eventually be subsumed within a single independent body.

Sitting in judgement

ECUK’s Chief Executive, Andrew Ramsay, will be on the judging panel for The Times Higher Education Supplement’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology Award’. One of 18 awards that the paper will be presenting later this year, it is designed to recognise and promote technological breakthroughs at HE institutions. Submissions, which can be either products or services, must have the potential to significantly enhance the operations of business, industry or the public sector.

Andrew, who will be one of three judges, hopes that the award will highlight the important work being done at universities: “As resource constraints loom, developments in engineering and technology hold the key to sustaining human life. R&D taking place in UK universities is a vital part of this”.

Find out more at: www.thes.co.uk/Awards/2006/List_of_awards

No delay to diploma

Despite objections, the government is determined to keep to its timetable for the introduction of the Engineering Diploma, which is part of the biggest change to 14+ education since the introduction of the National Curriculum. Writing to the Engineering Education Alliance (EEA) – of which ECUK is a member – Minister of State for Schools, Jacqui Smith, expressed her confidence that the diploma would be available from September next year as originally planned. The minister was replying to a letter from the EEA stating its concern over the lack of time allowed for consultation.

Engineering is one of five Specialised Diplomas that are due for launch in 2008 and which also include Construction & the Built Environment, Information & Communications Technology and Creative & Media. Eventually there will be 14, seven of them relevant to engineering. By 2013 it is intended that 40% of 14 –16 year olds will be studying a Specialised Diploma. All the diplomas will be available at three levels and have the aim of providing a “high quality blend of general, applied and practical teaching and learning”. Their development is being led by the Sector Skills Councils – who represent employers.

ECUK has been involved in the work of the Engineering Diploma steering and working groups and was invited to comment on the recently published draft diploma specification, which it did following consultation with its licensed members. A number of important issues were raised in its detailed response, which pressed for a design that was broader-based and more flexible and highlighted the need to avoid a ‘tick-box’ approach to assessment. Other concerns included the possible impact the diploma might have on apprenticeships.

ECUK has also had input into the Construction & the Built Environment Diploma and has welcomed the inherently flexible model that has been proposed for this.

In its letter to Jacqui Smith, the EEA had requested an additional 12months for development of the Engineering Diploma, suggesting this would secure wider support and understanding of this important new qualification. While the minister was unwilling to countenance any delay in its implementation, she did make the point that it was proposed to pilot the diplomas for three years after launch. As a consequence, there would be the opportunity for schools, colleges and other providers to make improvements.

For more on Specialised Diplomas:

Engineering Diploma:
http://www.engineeringdiploma.com/Feedback/consultation/45

Construction and the Built Environment Diploma:
http://www.cbediploma.co.uk/thediploma

ICT Diploma:
http://www.e-skills.com/Qualifications-&-Training/IT-Diploma/1648

Creative and Media Diploma (includes visual and audio industries):
http://www.skillset.org/qualifications/diploma

Overseas students more than make up the numbers

The UK is currently attracting record numbers of overseas students, lying second only to the USA in popularity. Now government has set even more ambitious targets for increasing the international intake at our universities and colleges.

Data from HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) shows that in 2004-05 there were 318,400 non-UK nationals studying in our HE Institutions, 13.3% of the student population, a substantial increase on four years earlier when they numbered 230,865, or 11.1% of the total. The number on engineering and technology programmes – which have proved particularly popular with foreign students – is up from 32,345 to 40,280 over the same period. Significantly, in 04/05 they made up 26.9% of those taking these subjects (compared with 22.4% in 00/01).

Unsurprisingly, many opt for an engineering degree that is ECUK-accredited, as this provides independent confirmation that a course is capable of delivering the understanding, knowledge and skills that underpin professional competence. In some countries, holding such a degree may actually be a requirement for professional registration as an engineer.

Science, engineering and technology degree programmes are now very dependent on foreign students. It is their fees that are subsidising UK undergraduates and masking underfunding. This would become all too apparent should numbers not continue their upward trend but actually start to diminish. Given that UK universities are facing increasing competition from other countries – as well as having to contend with a tightening of visa regulations – this is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

No need to panic – just yet

The threat to the West posed by engineering outsourcing to developing nations, particularly China and India, may not be as serious as some commentators have suggested.

In a remarkably candid presentation to the 7th WFEO World Congress on Engineering Education, Xila Liu from the Chinese Association for Science & Technology painted a gloomy picture of his country’s Higher Education system and the difficulties faced by its engineering undergraduates. Out-of-date textbooks, too few teaching staff, over-specialisation and a system locked in a 50-year old Soviet style mindset, have placed China’s students at a major disadvantage compared with their Western counterparts. Add to this the fact that they are often taught by lecturers whose own education was blighted by the Cultural Revolution, and it is not surprising that a recent student survey found that only 2.3% were satisfied with their courses.

Xia Liu, who works as a lecturer at Shanghai Jiatong University, admitted there was no quick-fix solution to the problems. He was though in no doubt about what actions needed to be taken. These include substantially increasing HE funding (which currently stands at 3.4% of GDP), ending government interference and creating opportunities for advancement for younger faculty members. Halving the number of engineering courses and redefining core programmes were among other key proposals. Xia Liu also highlighted the need for closer ties between universities and industry and government support for the development of technical schools.

Chinese engineering education has also come in for scrutiny in a report from America’s Duke University, which compares engineering graduates from the US, China and India. The report casts doubt on recently published figures that apparently show the latter two countries producing substantially higher numbers of engineering graduates than the US.

In the case of China the raw data from the country’s Ministry of Education does admittedly look pretty alarming, showing as it does the graduation of 644,000 engineers in 2004, a figure that includes computer science and IT awards. However, closer inspection reveals that almost 300,000 of these were on 2-3yr degree programmes. Crucially, the report also questions China’s definition of what constitutes an engineering degree programme, suggesting that its ‘graduates’ may include motor mechanics and industrial technicians.

The findings for India show the total number of degree holders graduating in 2004 was actually less than in the US (215,000 as against 222,300). The number with 4-yr Bachelor’s degrees was 112,000, compared with America’s 137,400. Furthermore, a very high proportion (85%) of the Indian graduates had IT-related awards. The report also points out that the US is not only producing appreciably more engineers per head of population than India, but more than China as well.

The American study has been accused of grossly underestimating the figure for 4-5yr degree holders in India and has also been criticised for not saying how many in the US go on to pursue SET careers. And even on the basis of the figures it has published it does concede that there is a real threat to the US science and technology economy from Indian and Chinese graduates with accredited engineering degrees and good language skills. Nevertheless, it does seem that reports of the imminent death of the developed world’s engineering profession are somewhat exaggerated.

Copies of the Duke outsourcing study: Empirical Comparison of Engineering Graduates in the United States, China and India can be downloaded from: http://memp.pratt.duke.edu/downloads/duke_outsourcing_2005_appendix.pdf

Time to grasp the nettle

The need for clarification, consistency and transparency is set to dominate discussions at the International Agreement Working Group Meeting being held in Dublin at the end of this month. Representatives from ECUK will be presenting papers on two issues, both of which are contentious and urgently require a consensus. Both relate to the operation of the academic accords – ie, Washington, Sydney and Dublin.

Dr Jim Birch, ECUK’s Head of International Recognition, will deliver a discussion paper – and make recommendations – on how to deal with the problem of countries not meeting their obligation under the accords to fully recognise the accredited engineering degrees of other signatory nations. While agreeing that the particular difficulties faced by some countries may need to be accommodated, he will be strongly critical of signatories taking unilateral action. He will also remind delegates that the accords do provide scope for disciplinary action to be taken against offenders.

An even more difficult problem – the matter of how the accords respond when a country changes its registration requirements – will be tackled in a paper from David Long, chairman of ECUK’s International Advisory Panel. This first became an issue in 1997, the year that UK changed its exemplifying qualifications for CEng registration. Yet there is still no mechanism for dealing with such developments.

The accords are able to accommodate gradual changes to course curricula, accreditation processes, etc – commonly referred to as educational creep – through their regular review of members’ HE and accreditation systems. However, this is not the case for the sort of step change that took place in the UK and is now imminent in the USA, where the academic requirements for being licensed as a professional engineer are about to be raised from a BS to an MS or a BS with further learning. While Bachelor’s degrees will not actually change as a result of this, nor become any less deserving of accreditation, can holders expect the same recognition as before from other accord members? Given that their own country might be seen as having devalued the qualification, some would argue no.

David Long’s presentation will address this apparent dichotomy, which for too long has been largely ignored – though not by the UK. With Ireland also planning significant changes (it is looking to convert to a 3 + 2 year degree system) and more countries poised to join the accords, the need for a solution is ever more pressing.

What the West Country did for us.

You don’t have to be an aviation buff to have heard of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, scene of the first ever powered flight. Or was it? Surprisingly – very surprisingly in fact – that honour actually goes to Chard in Somerset, courtesy of little-known engineer and inventor John Stringfellow. OK, his aeroplane was just a 3m wingspan model, so unlike the Wright Brothers’ ‘Flyer’ it had no pilot aboard. Yet his ingenious steam-powered creation still achieved sustained flight, albeit briefly. And it did so more than fifty years before Orville Wright took to the skies.

Stringfellow is one of twenty-five individuals whose work is celebrated in ‘The Spirit of Engineering’, a fascinating little book about the lives and achievements of inventors and designers with West Country associations. Through the telling of their stories it casts light on the economic and political forces that have shaped engineering in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Some names are very familiar - like Newcomen and Whittle. Others are decidedly less well known, such as Stringfellow and the ‘forgotten engineer’ Joseph Locke, who rose from humble beginnings to create much of the modern railway system. Created an Officer of the Legion d’Honneur by Napoleon III, Locke was never publicly honoured in the UK.

Fleming, Froude and Heaviside are here too – each lending their names to principles of engineering science – as is George Bidder, the Calculating Boy, who has one of the strangest stories. He rose to become President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, despite spending his early years exhibited at fairs and shows as a sort of a freak show, earning his father a tidy sum from his prodigious ability to perform complex mental arithmetic at lightning speed. We also learn of John Heathcoat, who invented mechanical weaving machines – but was chased from the Midlands by Ned Ludd.

'The Spirit of Engineering’ was compiled by members of the Retired Chartered Engineers Club, Exeter (http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/rcec_exeter.cfm). Copies are available, for just £5 each (inc p+p), from John Knivett at Wakehurst, Oakhill, East Budleigh, Devon EX9 7DW (tel: 01395 443 988). The proceeds from its sale will pay for the book to be distributed free of charge to schools, colleges and universities with the aim of encouraging more young people to enter the engineering profession.

Accreditation Executive (up to £30k plus benefits)

In this new post in ECUK’s Formation Department you will be part of the Engineering Accreditation Board secretariat, and will work closely with professional engineering institutions and universities on accreditation of engineering degrees and other programmes. You will also support the International Validation Panel and organise visits related to international agreements.

You will have excellent written and spoken communications skills, and be able to work on your own initiative in a team environment. Knowledge of the engineering profession and accreditation practice would be an advantage. Further details and an application form can be found at: http://www.engc.org.uk/opportunities/Accreditation_Executive.aspx

Closing date for applications 12th July 2006.