Registered Members passed the "3-year" Renew Period, and Rejoin Again.

Hi Tsoi,

Based on what I just read on the IET website and quote:
"New Engineering Council (EngC) regulations now state that any registered engineers who have lapsed their membership of a professional body, between a period of 1-3 years, will need to provide additional CPD evidence at the point of re-joining.


What happens if I have been lapsed for longer than 3 years?

You will be required to re-join the IET and apply for registration status as a new applicant. This would mean demonstrating your competence through a professional review, including completion of a new application form and attendance at an interview."

Look like need to start fresh again. Better you contact directly with IET Membership team to check again.


Regards,

I would like to see if any registered members out there passed the "3-year" renew period?

I also like to see if the views from other registered members to rejoin before or after the "3-year" renew period?

I would also like to see if I passed the "3-year" renew period, to become an ordinary member (without registered)?

Any views are welcome?

Dear Wayne,


How many years of lapse of registered membership of IET do you have?

Cheong Tsoi, Wayne, etc.,

There certainly seems to be some confusion here. My understanding of the advice being given out by the RSSU (Registration and Standards Support Unit) is that if your registration has lapsed by more than a year you will need to pay an administrative fee (probably still less than the annual fees you have not paid) as well as the annual subscription in order to renew it, sending in CPD records to show you have been maintaining your professional expertise. If the lapse is of three years or more you will also need to provide a new application form with evidence of what you have been doing during the intervening period and go through the application process but it will only be concerned about the lapsed period.

As these Rules only cover the registration (IEng, CEng, etc.) they should not affect the "MIET" designation which can be renewed without asking for renewal of the professional registration. This is why you can rejoin as MIET without the CPD submission (i.e. without the registration)

I hope that this helps.

Alasdair

My last registered IET membership payment was in May 2015.

I have another professional membership which can sustain me to practice as an Engineer in my region.

I wonder is it worth it to reinstate my IET registered membership now, or wait after passed the "3-year" renew period, or when I really feel IET registered membership is worthwhile to reinstate again?

Afterall, the registered IET membership fee is not cheap.

If you were me, what would you do?

Cheong Tsoi,

You are asking for advice when the only person who knows your exact circumstances is yourself. I must confess my view would be to renew it before the three years elapses as the renewal would be much smoother and quicker than after, but if you feel you don't benefit from it and won't for several years (if ever) then only you can decide if it is of value.

Alasdair

Cheong,

 

If you are suspended from the Engineering Council register (often described as “lapsed”) for more than 3 years, then if you wanted to use the CEng designation in future you would have to pay the registration assessment fee and be assessed again. When you last paid it probably included your fee for the year ahead so you would have continued to be on the register until mid-2016.  You can of course honestly state that you were CEng registered between certain dates, but that you no longer are and you shouldn’t use the designation on business cards for example or in any other context.

 

In my experience most former registrants who decide to undertake a fresh assessment are successful, but there is no guarantee. The assessment process seeks to re-validate your current level of competence against UK-SPEC. If you registered before UK-SPEC was introduced, or your more recent experience has offered less opportunity for the “technical leadership” expected of a CEng, then you could encounter a “tripping point” and be unsuccessful in the assessment process.

 

A frequent difficulty for members who seek registration 20 plus years into career, is that the optimum time for them to demonstrate the UK-SPEC standard would have been many years earlier. It is common for engineers with a strong technical focus in early career to become managers, often with fewer opportunities to exercise technical expertise and their engineer’s judgement. A lapsed registrant has the advantage of “banking” whatever qualifications got them their registration in the past , which a member applying for the first time doesn’t.  However, a further risk is created by the emphasis in UK-SPEC on technical “innovation” as an attribute expected of a Chartered Engineer, which tends to disadvantage those responsible for “established  technology” such asset management rather than “leading edge” design.

 

To answer your question (and others in similar circumstances), my thoughts would be; If you can easily afford the fees, then why give up something potentially useful.  I would expect this to be the case for most people working in a CEng type role and in the UK the fees are modest relative to typical earnings and other types of discretionary expenditure.  If you find the fees a problem then do you qualify for a concession?    https://www.theiet.org/membership/types/fees/reduced/index.cfm

 

The IET is very fortunate to gain the engagement and loyalty of so many of its members and if you find yourself unable to actively engage, or otherwise to derive useful value from your membership, then it is reasonable to choose to spend your money elsewhere. Some people value membership of particular groups, loyalty, stability etc. others just see registration as a transaction.  If you have already lapsed without a “heavy heart”, then as a transaction you have to decide if being a Chartered Engineer could be of value to you now or in the foreseeable future. You have already lost it temporarily and assuming that you are not improperly pretending to still hold it, this may be doing you no harm. If you go beyond three years the loss will be permanent. You may be able to regain it in future, but there is a significant risk that you won’t be reaccepted, which could be embarrassing and a disadvantage in your career if your circumstances change.

 

It may not apply in your region, but professional registration can be a significant advantage when seeking employment in the UK, with many jobs advertised as “CEng preferred”. Although the other registration categories aren’t so often cited in job advertisements, they are valued by some people making hiring or promotion decisions.  If I were that decision maker, then I would give some weight to professional commitment and also in appropriate circumstances to indications of loyalty and reliability like continuous membership and/or registration.  It may surprise you that I have retained IEng for 30+ years and at times this has added some value as part of my portfolio, which also includes Chartered Fellowship in a management discipline (CIPD).  I’m writing this because a change of circumstances offered me an opportunity to work for the IET where my IEng was valued. It also allows me to at least to be part of the argument about how we develop and properly value all those who we seek to serve, not just current Chartered Engineers who like you did, occupy quite a privileged position.       

                      

What is the amount of administrative fee I have to pay to renew my registered member?

Do I need to pay only 1 year membership fee (MIET) or all 3 years lapsed membership fee (MIET) to renew my registered member?

Anyone knows? It didn't say in IET website.

Cheong

 

My understanding is that you need to re-join, but that the IET would not charge you retrospectively for a membership that you didn’t enjoy the benefit of.  You should not have been describing yourself as CEng during this time, since your registration would have been suspended by Engineering Council. If as a member of the IET you wish to re-join the register without a fresh assessment  within the three year window, then you will have to pay the outstanding Engineering Council fees. You need to contact the membership department to establish what that figure would be in your individual circumstances.

 

As part of an increased emphasis on the importance of CPD, we are likely to ask for evidence of your ongoing commitment to professional development, which is expected of a registrant, before supporting your return to the register. The policy isn’t designed to be punitive towards those who may the fees a difficult burden, but most members, who pay promptly every year also shouldn’t subsidise those who’s commitment seems more questionable.