Updated: Monday, November 20, 2000

An explanation of "Chartered Engineer" and "Incorporated Engineer" Introduction. The Engineering Council keeps a register of professional engineers. This register has three categories. Chartered Engineer Incorporated Engineer Engineering Technician Chartered Engineer (CEng). The highest professional category is Chartered Engineer (CEng). Quoting the Engineering Council, "Chartered Engineers are concerned primarily with the progress of technology through innovation, creativity and change. They develop and apply new technologies; promote advanced designs and design methods; introduce new and more efficient production techniques and marketing and construction concepts; and pioneer new engineering services and management methods." Professional judgement and responsibility for important tasks is a key feature of their role. This is equivalent to NVQ5. To become Chartered requires a professionally accredited (approved) BEng (Hons) or (ideally) a MEng (Hons) plus at least 3 - 4 years of professional development before taking the Professional Review. It should be appreciated that while the majority of students start a university course intending to become a Chartered Engineer, only a minority do so, typically at around 30 years of age. By this time graduates often have families, mortgages and find that their career advancement does not depend upon Chartered status. However, at Plymouth, a recent survey showed that the majority of our graduates do become Chartered Engineers, the proportion being much higher than the national average. Incorporated Engineer (IEng) "Incorporated Engineers (IEng) act as exponents of today's technology and, to this end, they maintain and manage applications of current and developing technology at the highest efficiency." They also have a significant influence on the overall effectiveness of the organisation in which they work, often in key operational management roles. This is equivalent to NVQ4. To become an IEng requires a professionally accredited (approved) 3 year BSc (Hons) or a 2 year HND plus another year of study. Both of these must be followed by at least 3 years of professional development before taking the Professional Review. Engineering Technician (Eng Tech) "The roles of Engineering Technicians (Eng Tech) involve them in the application of proven techniques and procedures to the solution of practical problems. They carry a measure of supervisory and technical responsibility and are competent to exercise creative aptitudes and skills within defined fields of technology, often under the guidance of Incorporated Engineers." This is equivalent to NVQ3. The School of Civil & Structural Engineering at Plymouth would expect its students to become Chartered or Incorporated Engineers. SARTOR 97. Over the decades there has been much debate about the status of engineering in the UK, and what should constitute the educational and training requirements to become a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer. A factor which appeared to weigh heavily in the Engineering Council's deliberations was the number of engineers in each category of the register. This was as follows: Chartered Engineer 199,158 or 73% Incorporated Engineer 56,520 or 21% Engineering Technician 16,466 or 6% The Engineering Council felt that the status of professional engineers would be enhanced if the number of Chartered Engineers was reduced. Consequently they raised the university entry requirement to 18/24 A-level points (i.e. grade CCC/BBB or 240/300 points on the new UCAS 2002 tariff, or equivalent) depending upon whether a BEng (Hons) with additional study or MEng (Hons) was attained. It was assumed that in future the majority of professional engineers would be in the Incorporated category, with the entry requirement for 3 year university courses being set at 10 A-level points (i.e. grade DDE or about 160 points on the new UCAS tariff). By this means it was hoped that, at some time in the future, the proportions would be as follows: Chartered Engineer 19% Incorporated Engineer 75% Engineering Technician 6% Whether or not this strategy will work has been, and still is, the subject of much debate. Since guidelines are frequently changed, it is often very difficult to know what entry requirements to state in a prospectus that has to be written almost 2 years in advance of the time when students will start the course. The School apologises for any inconvenience caused by alterations dictated by the Engineering Council or Institutions of Civil and Structural Engineers.

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