How to guarantee the professional mobility of engineers post-Brexit

Brexit and professional recognition

Engineering Council

No withdrawal agreement

The UK could still leave with no deal if the withdrawal agreement is not approved by 31 January 2020, or at the end of the implementation period. To cater for this outcome a new Statutory Instrument on the recognition of professional qualifications was laid before Parliament on 19 December 2018. This Statutory Instrument works to replace the domestic legislation which implemented the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC, as amended by 2013/55/EU) and would replace S.I. 2015 No. 2059.

Alongside the new Statutory Instrument is the Explanatory Memorandum, which provides greater detail about the changes this legislative instrument would make. Updated guidance for users will be available from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) closer to the date.

Andy Millar:

Ray Hunter:

2) EUR ING is a useful qualification to have IMHO for working in the EU27 countries because EUR ING is administered by FEANI and FEANI is explicitly recognised by the EU as a body that is competent to administer academic and professional engineering qualifications. So having a EUR ING title will automatically provide a path to (maintaining) mutual recognition in all EU27 countries.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone working in the EU to know if this is the case? Is Eur Ing essential / helpful for certain roles? Personally I've never been asked for it when I've been loaned out to mainland EU countries, but that might be because the contract was with my employer rather than me.


Thanks,


Andy

In my European experience (6 years in the EU plus a year in Switzerland) Eur Ing is not essential. I've never met anyone who has it here. It always struck me as slightly embarrassing to have a title which no one has heard of and which requires explanation. Of course, if there's any practical advantage after Brexit I would put in the paperwork for it. Even here in Austria where they love titles I've never seen it.


A broader point: when we're talking about mutual recognition what exactly do we mean? Employers in the EU will for practical purposes still recognise British qualifications, i.e. they will continue to employ people with British qualifications, even if according to governments here a British degree is no longer formally recognised as being equivalent to an EU one. What jobs can you do now using the available mutual recognition which will not be available in the future?