International recognition beyond Europe

The Engineering Council plays a key role in establishing and maintaining international agreements and education accords to align educational and professional standards across international boundaries.

International Engineering Alliance (IEA)

The Engineering Council is a member of the IEA, an umbrella organisation that oversees seven international agreements relating to the recognition of standards for the accreditation and approval of engineering education and professional engineering competence.

International Engineering Education Accords (IEEA)

A key benefit for holders of Engineering Council accredited academic qualifications is that the quality of these engineering education programmes is widely recognised by the rest of the world through a number of International Engineering Education Accords.

Competence Agreements

There are four agreements relating to competence standards for practising engineers. These aim to promote mobility by minimising the assessment required for a person who is recognised in one country as reaching the agreed international standard of competence when seeking registration in another signatory country.

The Engineering Council is a signatory to three of these agreements:

• The International Professional Engineers Agreement (signed in 2001)

• The International Engineering Technologists Agreement (signed in 2003)

• The Agreement for International Engineering Technicians (signed in 2016)

These agreements are the basis for the International Registers of:

• Professional Engineers (IntPE)

• Engineering Technologists (IntET)

• Engineering Technicians (IntETn).

The fourth, and longest-standing, agreement is the APEC Engineer Agreement, whose members represent countries in the Asia-Pacific region.