Hi Girish,

Just to add a little to what Lynton has said.  TKA is applied only in a small number of cases and is normally applied when the candidate does not possess an exemplifying qualification and does not provide sufficient evidence of Underpinning Knowledge and Understanding (UK&U) in their application.  When your application is submitted it goes into the first stage assessment at which your UK&U and your competence are examined; unless you hold an exemplifying qualification (e.g. accredited MEng for CEng), in which case only competence is evaluated.  If both are deemed satisfactory by the assessors, your application will be passed to PRI.  If the evidence in your application is such that either factor is not deemed to have been satisfied, you will be asked for further information.  This can take several forms.

For UK&U you may be asked for a written statement of further evidence of UK&U or you may be asked to undertake a TKA.  Which route is taken is at the discretion of the assessors and will depend on the depth of the missing information in the application.

For competence, you may be asked for a full evidence statement for one or more competencies (most commonly A and B, but can be any).

As Lynton has rightly pointed out, the key difference between a TKA interview and a PRI is that the former will focus on your technical knowledge, whereas the latter will focus on competence evidence.  While the format may be similar, the content of the TKA should be quite different and you will need to prepare differently for PRI, focusing on how you exemplify the competences.

The gap between the TKA and the PRI can vary considerably, depending on where the various interview cycles are and I'm afraid I can't provide much guidance in this respect.

Hi Girish,

Just to add a little to what Lynton has said.  TKA is applied only in a small number of cases and is normally applied when the candidate does not possess an exemplifying qualification and does not provide sufficient evidence of Underpinning Knowledge and Understanding (UK&U) in their application.  When your application is submitted it goes into the first stage assessment at which your UK&U and your competence are examined; unless you hold an exemplifying qualification (e.g. accredited MEng for CEng), in which case only competence is evaluated.  If both are deemed satisfactory by the assessors, your application will be passed to PRI.  If the evidence in your application is such that either factor is not deemed to have been satisfied, you will be asked for further information.  This can take several forms.

For UK&U you may be asked for a written statement of further evidence of UK&U or you may be asked to undertake a TKA.  Which route is taken is at the discretion of the assessors and will depend on the depth of the missing information in the application.

For competence, you may be asked for a full evidence statement for one or more competencies (most commonly A and B, but can be any).

As Lynton has rightly pointed out, the key difference between a TKA interview and a PRI is that the former will focus on your technical knowledge, whereas the latter will focus on competence evidence.  While the format may be similar, the content of the TKA should be quite different and you will need to prepare differently for PRI, focusing on how you exemplify the competences.

The gap between the TKA and the PRI can vary considerably, depending on where the various interview cycles are and I'm afraid I can't provide much guidance in this respect.