Pathway to professional qualifications
2022 has been a year of consolidating the three-stage membership application process that was introduced in 2021 and developing enhancements to the application and assessor portals. The application process improvements launched in 2021 were time-critical and interim because of the replacement of the membership database and old application portal. Enhancements to this process have been developed throughout 2022 to improve the experience for both applicants and volunteer members involved in the assessments.
Applications will be made via online forms rather than uploaded application documents which will permit smarter tailoring of applications at Stage 1 so that applicants are only presented with sections of forms relevant to their specific circumstances. New functionality has also been developed to link the applications with the panels responsible for reviewing assessments and electing and transferring members. These enhancements are being launched at the beginning of 2023.
Following the introduction of the new Stage 1 route, Individual Case Procedure (ICP), towards the end of 2021, the first full year saw 271 applications received, 183 applications considered at the Individual Case Panel, and 96 applications fully completed and assessed as meeting the educational base for Chartered Engineer status (CEng).
The application and assessment process has been continually assessed and refined during the year, to make the best use of volunteer resource and ensure a smooth application journey. The annual continuing professional development (CPD) sampling took place with 268 CPD records sampled across 13 categories of professionally qualified membership to meet the requirements of five regulators. A further 66 CPD records were reviewed from former members seeking reinstatement.
Volunteer training will continue into 2023 to build a solid pool of Professional Reviewers
Throughout 2022 there was a recruitment and training drive for more volunteers, especially Professional Reviewers, with 55 new Professional Reviewers starting in 2022 as well as 43 Individual Case Procedure Reviewers. 11 new Initial Professional Development (IPD) Assessors were trained to assist with Stage 2 of the membership application process along with nine new Accredited Company Training Scheme (ACTS) Assessors. This regular programme of training will continue into 2023 to build a solid pool of Professional Reviewers in order to handle expected increased application volumes.
IChemE had previously undertaken licence reviews with the Engineering Council, Science Council, Society for the Environment and the Energy Savings and Opportunity Scheme at the end of 2021. These reviews are undertaken every five years and allow IChemE to continue to offer the professional registrations these regulators control. Throughout the year the team worked on implementing all actions and recommendations for improvements received from the Engineering Council, Science Council, Society for the Environment and the Energy Savings and Opportunity Scheme reviews. All were implemented well within the end-of-year deadline given.
In Australia, IChemE successfully renewed the Registered Professional Engineer Queensland assessment scheme.
To support members in applying for Chartered status, Get Chartered presentations explaining the process were delivered and more mentors were trained.
At the end of 2022, IChemE’s headline membership figure was around 30,000 with 41% professionally qualified