** Ask the Expert ** - Professional Registration

Thanks Jo, for setting this up.

Hello experts,



I've just started trying to document my experience so far to work towards chartership, hopefully CEng. I currently have about 5 years work experience. My current employer has encouraged me to think about trying to get chartered but it wouldn't be a requirement for progression. 



When I started to document my experience I found that my projects often covered more than one competency, is there a preference to the format of the report or any guidance available on structure? It seemed to me that it might flow better as a list of projects I have worked on but I'm not sure if this is acceptable or what is most common.



Regarding gaps in experience - these seem to occur in a specific category and I am unsure to address them moving forward. How much experience would count for developing competency? It would be good to discuss this and if there are any examples you can provide that would also help. The phrase competence can be a bit vague...



Many thanks,

Nicola

Hi Nicola,  I suggest you go and download the latest application pack from the IET web site.  http://www.theiet.org/membership/profreg/ceng/index.cfm



You will find that the new aplicaiton form is formatted in a way which is much more suited to the project by project approach covering many competencies than the older forms where the focus was on competency matching.  Note it is a good idea to highlight int he form which competencies you think you are matching.



The last issue about gaps in competency is a difficult one without more detail (feel free to contact me seperately if you want to discuss (vquinn@theiet.org).  Normally in the application process I try and get people to think outside their interpretation a bit on competencies, e.g. management experience, is not restricted to managing people directly, you could be managing a multi-million dollar project with a team of 30 people, none of whom directly report to you.  That is still management experience. 



For the "what is competency" question, try and look at key words in the UK Spec, these can give you some idea of the kind of information you should be trying to put together.  It also sometimes helps to look at the difference in wordng between say IEng or EngTech and CEng to see the difference more clearly.  also hink about whether you are able to do the work alone, or could you train someone to do the same work?  If you want to you can register with Ca\\reer manager - they use four levels of "skill level".  levels 1 and 2 are "trainee" and "supervised", level 3 is "practitioner" (competent) and level 4 is "expert".  Think about these kind of words when you are talking about competency - they can be really useful.  http://www.theiet.org/membership/career/cmanager/index.cfm



remember also that it is not necessary that you are an expert, or even "competent" in ALL matters, most people have some weaknesses - however if you have at least some level of exposure and can identify that this is not such a stong area then this is something you can either work on before the application, or at least be aware of and make future plans to address.





Hope this helps - good luck



Vikki

I agree with Vikki that the best way forward is to download the Prof Reg Application Pack for C Eng.  The 'Make it Anywhere' leaflet gives examples of activities which demonstrate the different competencies and the Application Guidance notes advise on how to fill the form in effectively.



My advise to candidates is always to start Section J  Career History by formulating their 'best' CV in chronological order, so that it 'tells a very good story' of their  career from junior engineer to the present.  This will obviously include projects worked on, in chronological order, and showing engineering design skills and underpinning mathematical knowledge.



Alongside this undertake a competency self assessment using Career Manager, or a spreadsheet - note each project that best illustrates a particular skill. Then ensure all the competencies are included in the appropriate section of the career history in Section J.



Contrary to what Vikki said, I always suggest to candidates that the competencies should be clear enough in Section J without specific identification. as noting A2, B3 etc detracts from 'their story'. 



Hope this helps!



Sue

Thank you for the advice, it is really helpful especially regarding how to interpret competencies and strucutre my application. I definitely have some project team management experience that could contribute here. Now just to find the time to work on it!



Has anyone completed their application through the IET Career Manager? I was advised to take a look at the revamped version when it re-launches. I also found this diagram of how Career Manager a good place to start http://www.theiet.org/membership/career/cmanager/downloads/career-manager-flow-diagram.cfm Hope this is useful to some others...



Kind regards,

Nicola

Hello,



Please take a look at this IET T.V video on Professional Registration.



A tutorial film produced specifically for Professional Engineers seeking IEng/CEng registration and Volunteers who undertake key registration roles to prepare them for the professional review process. The film engages and connects with the learner and demonstrates parts of the process, sharing the experiences of candidates. The Professional Review Interview (PRI) is a fundamental element of the Engineering Council's registration process and mandatory for IEng/CEng. It is vital that candidates are fully prepared to present their strongest evidence and is an important stage of an engineer's professional career.



Jo Foster

Hello, does the forum have any advice on how commercially sensitive information is dealt with in your application for professional registration? 

Can projects be made anonymous in your application or does everything you discuss have to be in the public domain already? 

Your report requires you to be specific about your involvement in projects yet with certain projects this could be difficult for me (and I'm sure some others) when thinking about their applications.



Thanks,

Nicola

Hello, does the forum have any advice on how commercially sensitive information is dealt with in your application for professional registration? Can projects be made anonymous in your application or does everything you discuss have to be in the public domain already?



Your report requires you to be specific about your involvement in projects yet with certain projects this could be difficult for me (and I'm sure some others) when thinking about their applications.

Thanks,

Nicola

Hi Nicola, it is not that unusual to find someone with confidential work (think especially of all the applicants from the armed forces).  Talk to your PRA, talk to your mentor (they may well have experience of similar situations)  make sure it is highlighted int he application form - basically make sure it is known.  It is possible for the reviewers to be selected with this issue in mind (again the armed forces and other industries have people who are "cleared" for reviews).

Are there any chartered engineers within your business?  is there an in-company representative to the IET?  these people can also help and advise with their own expeience, or even just read through your application to advise where there may be issues about confidentiality.



However, this can be avoided by avoiding oo much detail.  the main point is to find out WHAT YOU DID, how did you perform as an engineer.  In many cases this can be achieved without giving confidential information.

For example if you are responsible for the design of a product you can explain some of the engineering thinking that went into the design - you don't need to supply actual drawings of the product.  It can also be useful where there is no material available to use (for confidentiality reasons) you could perhaps use in-house personal assessments (these will rarely contain company or product specific details).  There are ways to work around the restrictions.  again keep the focus on YOU and not on the product/projects and you should be fine.

Thanks Victoria, I'm currently trying to work out who might be chartered in my new job as I work with a range of engineers, designers and software developers. I'm hoping to have an opportunity to ask in a more informal/social situation rather than just walking up to someone in the office and put them on the spot. 



While on my current project I couldn't provide diagrams for some of my previous projects I would like to include diagrams/drawings, is this a common occurence in the appliactions you've seen previously? I think it would be very helpful but I was unsure of the ettiquette.



I will save the main report writing until winter though and make sure I don't miss the great British summer!