Page 71 - Annual Report 2016-2017

REPORTS FROM NATIONAL MEMBERS 71
conduct, is recognised as desirable in many elds of engineering employment and provision of engineering services, because it is a public declaration of competency and professional values. There are a small number of areas of work, generally safety related, which are reserved by Statute to licensed or otherwise approved persons.
2017 Highlights
With both a new Chief Executive Of cer (Mr. Alasdair Coates, CEng FICE) and Chairman (Professor Christopher Atkin, CEng FRAeS) coming in to post during the year, 2017 naturally saw a period of change, all underpinned by the establishment of our next Strategic Plan for 2018-2020. However, what remained constant was the Engineering Council’s ongoing efforts to ensure it operated a Register that was robust, t for purpose and able to provide assurance to society of the knowledge, experience and commitment of our professionally registered engineers and technicians.
Collaboration among the engineering community is vital to meeting the challenges of the future and we continued to work closely with colleagues, particularly our Licensed Members and Professional Af liates, throughout 2017. From developing updated Policy and Guidance, to providing online tools for technicians and Licensed Members, to a successful trial of External Quality Assurance for apprenticeships, the Engineering Council has had another productive year.
During 2017, the Engineering Council updated its Policy and Guidance on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to re ect that recording CPD is mandatory for registrants (no later than 2019). Registrants will need current CPD records as the PEIs will undertake a random sample each year. Assuring conformity with CPD sampling will be part of the Licensing process.
The revised Statement of Ethical Principles document, produced with the Royal Academy of Engineering, was launched in July following review by a working group in 2016. A key change to the document is its extension to
all those engaged in engineering at any level, who the Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineering believe should be educated and encouraged to think and work in accordance with these ethical principles.
We published the Pocket Guide to Professional Registration 2017 and continued to maintain our suite of standard literature. This includes a range of guidance documents, information on each of the registration titles and the Student Guide to Professional Registration, all of which are available online.
We promoted International Women in Engineering Day in June with a speci c webpage (supported by two female Board Members) and also marked National Apprenticeships Week with a webpage including case studies, highlighting opportunities for apprentices.
Looking Forward
Our strategic plan for 2018-20 focuses on providing maximum public bene t, maintaining a globally recognised standard and meeting the future regulatory needs of the profession.
2018 is also the Year of Engineering in the UK and we look forward to working with colleagues to promote engineering in all its forms. This year will bring many challenges and opportunities again, from our hosting of the prestigious International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Conference to the important review of our UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). All this will be undertaken against a backdrop of continuing to develop our core systems and processes whilst maintaining and championing standards in the engineering profession.