INTERNATIONAL SPECIFICATION FOR ENGINEERING COMPETENCE


The Engineering Council, regulator of the UK engineering profession, has worked with BSI to develop an internationally applicable Publicly Available Specification (PAS 525) for assessing the competence and commitment of engineering professionals. This framework defines a standard for knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and maintain competence within a rapidly changing profession. It is designed to be readily


implemented by international professional engineering organisations and other agencies as a framework to support specification for engineering projects, products and processes, or to guide the training of engineers According to Alasdair Coates,


“It is also crucial to recognise that


engineers have a responsibility to society, acting in the public interest at all times and upholding professional standards including safety, sustainability and ethical conduct,” he says. “Therefore, we have worked with BSI and international colleagues to develop this framework to share best practice in formal recognition of the necessary engineering competence to meet these demands.” The specification has


❱❱ Alasdair Coates believes a greater requirement for engineers to work globally is changing the face of the profession


chief executive officer of the Engineering Council, factors such as increasing levels of automation, a greater requirement to work globally, skills and resource availability and the development of new forms of information technology are all changing the engineering profession.


international reach, too. As well as maintaining the UK standard for professional engineering competence (UK- SPEC), the Engineering Council is active within a number of multilateral mutual recognition agreements with engineering bodies in other countries, governed by the


International Engineering Alliance (IEA). The Engineering Council is also a member of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI) and the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE).


WHITE PAPER MAPS ROUTE FOR MIGRANT ENGINEERS


❱❱ Ismail Badat and Taylor Murphy, left, are just two of the latest intake of modern apprentices taking part in STEM programmes at Chubb Fire & Security in Blackburn; the Knowledge Academy reveals the stark contrast between male and female first degree choices for 2018/2019, above


The government recently published a White Paper – The UK’s Future Skills-based Immigration System – as a starting point in establishing the mechanism for accommodating engineers from abroad in the UK job market. Removing the cap on the number of


skilled workers, including engineers, is a proposal that is welcomed by the Royal Academy of Engineering. According to the RAE’s president, Professor Dame Ann Dowling, the well-known engineering skills shortage cannot be wholly met by home grown talent, especially not in the short- and medium- term. “Engineering has a particularly mobile


workforce,” she says. “Engineering companies tend to recruit from a global talent pool and engineers are in high demand internationally. “Access to skilled workers is a critical


issue for engineering and it is vital that businesses can hire the workers they need at all skills levels regardless of whether


they meet the proposed £30,000 salary threshold. This includes technicians and teachers of STEM subjects who help inspire future engineers. We welcome the proposed consultation on this threshold,” she says. However, the proposals have also been


met with criticism. The Immigration Advice Service (IAS) believes the proposed immigration system poses an array of threats to many UK businesses and industries, including in engineering. The IAS believes that the difficulties


associated with the minimum income requirement to be considered for a Tier 2 Work Visa is compounded by the requirement for employers to obtain a Sponsor Licence just to hire them. Although the Government promises


reform ahead for the Sponsor Licence application process, industry-wide experts have criticised the need for the existing arduous, laborious and costly process to continue in its current form.


March 2019 /// Testing & Test Houses /// 39


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