Regulating Access to the Professions: a UK perspective. Jon Prichard Chief Executive, The Engineering Council

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1 Regulating Access to the Professions: a UK perspective Jon Prichard Chief Executive, The Engineering Council

2 Professional regulation A Profession is an occupation in which an individual uses an intellectual skill based on an established body of knowledge and practice to provide a specialised service in a defined area, exercising professional judgment in accordance with a code of ethics and in the public interest. UK Inter-professional Group Position Statement on Professional Regulation, revised November 2002.

3 UK Regulatory framework Professional Regulation exists to protect consumers and society at large. In the UK it is part of a spectrum of regulatory mechanisms. Government legislates for the public interest. Consumers have recourse to civil or criminal law. Employers are responsible for the proper management of employees and supervision of their work. Professional bodies set standards of competence and professional conduct, keep registers of qualifications and titles awarded, investigate complaints and impose sanctions. BSI as the national standards body sets product standards and standards of practice. Individual professionals take personal responsibility for their own performance, maintaining their competence and high standards of professional conduct.

4 Professional Regulation Spectrum Trust Journalism Religion Computing Unregulated Very Regulated Science Engineering Verification Teaching Architecture Accountancy Law Medicine

5 Regulation of the Engineering Profession in the UK Self-regulation occurs when a professional body enters into an agreement with government to formally regulate the activities of its members. In the UK, this agreement traditionally takes the form of a Royal Charter. A Royal Charter provides legal protection Professional Titles.

6 About the Engineering Council First Chartered Title (Civil Engineer) adopted in Council of Engineering Institutions founded in1964 to agree common standards for Professional Engineers across all disciplines. Royal Charter granted to the Engineering Council in1981. Holds the UK register of EngTech, IEng, CEng and ICTTech. 235,000 Registrants. Designated by UK Government as a Competent Authority. Professional Titles listed in Annex 1 to Directive 2005/36. Engineering Council is a council of the institutions. 36 Professional Engineering Institutions licensed to assess and register individual professionals.

7 Access to Protected Titles Registration permits use of a Protected Title. Registration is voluntary. Registration requires demonstration of competence. Register sections correspond to levels (c), (d) and (e) of Article 11 of Directive 2005/36. The institutions, through the Engineering Council, set, maintain and review the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). Competence combines knowledge, skills and abilities gained through formal and informal learning and professional development. Applied engineering experience is a pre-requisite. Membership of the institution provides support for continuing professional development and compliance with Codes of Practice and Conduct.

8 Route to Professional Assessment Start Exemplifying Qualification Assessment of Experiential Learning Structured Professional Development Assessment of Professional Development Assessment of Competence

9 Benefits of the UK System Competence of Professionals is key to public assurance. The Profession has the knowledge and expertise to set and assess the standards of competence. The Profession accredits degrees and is responsible for the standards of engineering education programmes. Protected Titles are restricted to those who meet the required level of competence. Admission relies on professional expertise and peer review. Voluntary participation demonstrates personal commitment. Continued registration requires maintenance of competence and good standing. The words engineer and engineering are widely used, but only individuals on the Register can legally use the Protected Titles.

10 Benefits to the Engineering Sector The UK engineering sector employs circa 5.4 million people. Of these, circa 2 million are in roles requiring engineering skills and 800,000 are in professional roles. 235,000 professional engineers and technicians are registered, the majority of these (178,000) are Chartered Engineers. Around 18% of registrants are outside the UK. No accurate figures available for foreign engineers working in UK. In 2011, 89 applications were made under the Directive. In 2012, 12% of enquiries to the UK National Contact Point related to engineering. Voluntary regulation minimises barriers while provided a mechanism to quality assure engineers.

11 International registration showing change from 2011 Canada: 2, % UK: 194, % USA: 3, % Ireland: 1, % Malaysia: 1, % Hong Kong: 11, % Australia: 6, % Singapore: 1, % Registrants in 45 countries South Africa: 1, % New Zealand: 1, %

12 Engineering population Population Member Total CEng IEng EngTech Registrant

13 Benefits for employers Minimal barriers when recruiting (European) engineers. Employers engage with the profession to set professional standards. Employers and their clients can have confidence in the quality of engineering professionals. Registration status can be verified. Protected Titles are recognised worldwide. Statutory regulations reserve specific activities in certain sectors to competent persons - registration of professionals can demonstrate compliance.

14 Transparency exercise The Engineering Council welcomes the transparency exercise. Competent Authorities may find it useful to apply the principles set out by the UK Better Regulation Task Force: Transparency Accountability Targeting Consistency Proportionality