The Engineering Council’s Annual Registration Statistics Report 2019* shows that 2019 was both a strong year for professional registration overall, with a 24.26% increase in new titles added to the Register, and another record year for technicians.

Professional registration is open to all practising engineers and technicians who can demonstrate the required levels of competence and commitment.  There are now 231,850 engineers and technicians who have been assessed against the Engineering Council’s standards and awarded one of the professional titles:

• Engineering Technician (EngTech)
• Incorporated Engineer (IEng)
• Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• Information and Communications Technology Technician (ICTTech)

Professional registration is an independent assessment of engineers’ and technicians’ competence, demonstrating their commitment to ethics and continuing professional development. Registration ensures that employers, government and wider society, both in the UK and internationally, can have confidence in the skills and commitment of registrants.

Of the 13,518 new professional registration titles added to the Engineering Council’s Register in 2019, more than 5,500 were EngTech. From 2016-2019, the number of new EngTech titles awarded has increased every year and in 2019 this grew significantly, by 61.80% compared to the previous year. This demonstrates the appeal of professional registration to practising technicians and may reflect increasing interest in apprenticeships as a pathway into engineering.

The total size of the Register has also increased in 2019, with 1.04% more registrants than in 2018. Over the three years since 2017, the Register has grown by more than 2,000 registrants, indicating the continued relevance of professional registration to the engineering workforce in the UK and internationally.

Women continue to represent close to 11% of new final stage titles in 2019, with 1,390 titles held by female engineers added to the Register. The proportion of new CEng titles held by women is higher than for other registration titles, at 15.30%, compared to 6.69% of IEng and 6.12% of EngTech.

International registration titles represented 18.90% of total titles in 2019, a very slight fall from 19.02% in the previous year.

Alasdair Coates, Engineering Council CEO said:

“We are pleased to see these positive trends, with both the number of new titles added increasing by almost a quarter and another record number of Engineering Technicians becoming registered in 2019. Registration is open to any practicing engineer or technician who can demonstrate the required level of competence – there are many routes into engineering, but the standard achieved is what matters. This continued growth is an indication of the value of professional registration.

While the proportion of female engineers and technicians on the Register is still low, titles held by women make up close to 11% of those added to the Register in 2019. The Engineering Council continues to support women in engineering and to champion diversity and inclusion across the profession.”

*All statistics provided in this release are as of 31 December 2019.

Editor’s notes:    

Press enquiries:

Kate Webster, Engineering Council – kwebster@eng.org.uk, 020 3206 0567

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