The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and the Engineering Council have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting out their continued commitment to work together and collaborate in the public interest.

UKAS and the Engineering Council share common principles and practice in their promotion and assurance of competent practice and have had a good working relationship for a number of years. This agreement formalises that relationship and confirms their collaboration on areas of mutual interest.

Under the new MoU, UKAS and the Engineering Council commit to:

• identify common priorities and synergies,
• seek consensus on areas of mutual concern
• work collaboratively on specific projects of mutual interest
• acknowledge and support each other’s strategic objectives.

A work programme is underway to deliver on these commitments across a broad range of topics, including working collaboratively to support the industry response to Dame Judith Hackitt's Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety[1], following the Grenfell tragedy. To continue to deepen their understanding of each other’s processes and seek appropriate opportunities to align these, the Engineering Council will become a member of the UKAS Policy Advisory Forum and UKAS will contribute to the Engineering Council's strategic planning process.

Matt Gantley, UKAS Chief Executive, said: "I am extremely pleased that we have been able to formalise our close working relationship with the Engineering Council. Both organisations share similar goals, principles and practices that together make a huge contribution to providing assurance to society. This agreement supports UKAS’s vision to deliver confidence to Government, business and the public by providing a world class accreditation service."

Alasdair Coates, Engineering Council Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Engineering Council works with a range of partners to achieve its vision of maintaining society’s confidence and trust in the engineering profession. We are pleased to confirm our commitment to collaborating with UKAS within our own governance structures, sharing learning and supporting each other to continuously improve our activities.”

[1] Building a Safer Future – Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Final Report

Editor’s notes:    

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the national accreditation body for the UK. Its role is to check that organisations providing conformity assessment services such as certification, testing, inspection and calibration services, are meeting a required standard of performance. The assessment criteria used by UKAS are internationally recognised as being the best indicators of accurate, impartial and consistent performance. UKAS accreditation demonstrates an organisation’s competence, impartiality and performance capability against internationally recognised standards. For further information about UKAS accreditation please visit www.ukas.com

For further media information please contact Phil Russell in the press office:

T: 020 7689 5155     E: ukas@clear-group.co.uk

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

Press enquiries:

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