GHD recognised for championing professionally-qualified engineers with Silver award
12th September 2018
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) has awarded world-leading professional services company GHD with Silver Corporate Partner status. The Award recognises the company’s efforts to champion Chartered Engineer status amongst employees, and its work with young people, helping to inspire the next generation of chemical engineers.
The Award was presented on Tuesday 11 September to Associate Director, Ian Walker at the GHD Head Office in Chester, UK by IChemE President, Ken Rivers and IChemE Chief Executive, Jon Prichard.
The company’s chemical and process engineers are mostly based in the Manchester and Chester offices, providing design services for clients in the water, energy from waste, chemicals and nuclear industries.
In their Corporate Partner application, GHD demonstrated a commitment to enhancing the technical and professional skills of its engineers, providing them with an extensive range of learning opportunities to support their route to becoming a Chartered Chemical Engineer.
GHD’s successful IChemE Accredited Company Training Scheme (ACTS) currently has five mentors to aid graduate chemical engineers in their professional development. Thirteen of its engineers are currently working towards Chartered Engineer status.
GHD has also been recognised for its work with aspiring engineers, assisting engineering students at local universities with final year design projects and helping with technical appraisals for coursework. The company also provides six-week internships for chemical engineering undergraduates, with one intern per year receiving corporate sponsorship in the final two years of their degree course.
IChemE President Ken Rivers said:
“I’m delighted to present GHD with the IChemE Silver Corporate Partner Award. As a company, they have shown a continued commitment to professional development and provide the right amount of encouragement for their engineers to build their careers and demonstrate good practice in the industry. It’s been great to hear more about their ongoing outreach work with students during our visit, as well as in their activities working with our Institution. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
GHD Associate Director, Ian Walker accepted the Award on the firm’s behalf, and said:
“We’re delighted to be awarded Silver Corporate Partner status which builds on our strong relationship with the IChemE. At GHD, we remain committed to inspiring young people, championing professional development, and helping our engineers to achieve Chartered Chemical Engineer status. Our work with schools, universities and young professionals is testament to this and it is a privilege to be recognised by the IChemE for our efforts.”
The chemical engineers at GHD are strengthening their relationship with IChemE by actively supporting IChemE Member Groups in the North West, Warrington and Widnes, and South Manchester; with some taking up committee roles. The engineers organise regular technical talks, and work as volunteer interviewers on competence and commitment reports, as well as assessors for Accredited Company Training Schemes.