On 22 May the Engineering Council hosted a bilateral meeting with the Ordem dos Engenheiros (Order of Engineers), the regulatory and licensing body for the engineering profession in Portugal.

Taking place at the Engineering Council offices in London, the meeting was held to sign the updated and improved agreement between the two bodies. The new agreement includes the provision for Senior Engineers from the Ordem who are applying for the Chartered Engineer (CEng) title, to be exempt from a professional review interview if they have already been interviewed in Portugal.

The Portuguese delegation included Eng Fernando de Almeida Santos, President; Eng Jorge Liça, Vice President, and João Gens, Director of External Relations. Representatives from the Engineering Council included Chairman Prof John Chudley, Paul Bailey, CEO; Katy Turff, Head of Policy and Standards and Deputy CEO; and Dave Clark, International Affairs Manager.

The meeting covered several subjects of mutual interest including the importance of diversity of representation in engineering, challenges to remove barriers for engineers to work in other countries, and the pressing need for engineers and technicians with the skills to work in the green industries.

The mutual recognition agreement was first established in November 2018 to enhance mobility, and has facilitated discussions on recent developments and the exchange of information regarding standards and processes. The two organisations continue to work closely in areas of mutual interest, including competence-based assessment of engineering professionals for the public benefit.

Paul Bailey, Engineering Council CEO said: “We are delighted to host colleagues from the Ordem dos Engenheiros and look forward to continuing the development of our agreement with them, one which recognises the close alignment of our standards and processes and the equivalency of our titles. These agreements, and the relationships we develop with overseas regulatory and licensing bodies, help us ensure that our standards continue to be globally recognised and that we can facilitate the international mobility of engineering professionals.”

For more information about the agreement with the Ordem dos Engenheiros, see https://www.engc.org.uk/international-activity/european-recognition/mutual-recognition-agreement-portugal/

For press enquiries:   
Helen Potts, Engineering Council – hpotts@engc.org.uk, 020 3206 0568

The Engineering Council holds the national Register of Engineering Technicians (EngTech), Incorporated Engineers (IEng), Chartered Engineers (CEng) and Information and Communication Technology Technicians (ICTTech). It also sets and maintains the internationally recognised standards of competence and ethics that govern the award and retention of these titles. By this means it is able to ensure that employers, government and wider society, both at home and overseas, can have confidence in the skills and commitment of registrants. For more information visit: www.engc.org.uk