Personal and Professional Development - Essay Example

?Running Head: Personal and Professional Development Personal and Professional Development Date of Submission Personal and Professional Development Introduction In any profession, the importance of professional qualification in the field concerned is unquestionable. Students, who aspire to become able professionals, need to focus on the most appropriate routes to obtain professional qualifications. Alongside, they should also ensure that they choose the accredited and recognised courses and programmes so that confusion and loss of academic years can be avoided. The engineering field in UK is no exception and students need to know that exactly how they can become professionally qualified engineers. In the last ten years, there has been an increment of six percent in the number of undergraduate students who are studying engineering in the UK. Over the next ten years, there will be increased demand of qualified engineers in the country and abroad. The UK Department of Trade and Industry has recently released figures that prove that engineering graduates are amongst those who are more likely to start their careers on higher salaries (Courses-careers.com, 2010). This report explores the most appropriate routes to personal professional accreditation in the engineering field. Special focus will be on civil and structural engineering. There are several ways to obtain accredited and recognised qualifications in the field of engineering at the different levels. In the UK, there are different universities and institutions which offer various British engineering qualifications. The Engineering Council of UK regulates and monitors the standards of these qualifications. Levels of Professional Qualifications Professional engineering qualifications can be obtained at various levels and depending on these qualifications, the professional is assigned responsibilities in the workplace. After completing the chosen engineering course, the professional may begin as a technician engineer or the head engineer as his qualifications may be. Big earners with an engineering background include the Chief Engineer at McLaren who earns in the region of ? 2 million and Chief Executive of BT, who is a Chartered Engineer and earns in excess of ?1 million (Courses-careers.com, 2010). Professional engineering qualifications at various levels are discussed below: Vocational A-Levels and Scottish Highers; SQA Higher National Certificate: These are courses for 1 or 2 years full time. These courses can be regarded as foundation qualifications for the engineering technicians and can be utilised to get admission in undergraduate studies. BTEC/Edexcel/SQA Higher National Diploma (HND): These are generally 2 years course, full time. The HND is well respected qualification and can help the student to upgrade as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng). By obtaining better marks, one can also get transferred into the 2nd or 3rd year of an undergraduate degree programme. Degree Courses: These courses include BEng (Hons) (Bachelor of Engineering) or MEng (Master of Engineering). A BEng (Hons) would generally take 3 to 4 years full time to complete. An accredited professional Bachelor’s degree would fulfil the educational requirements for registration at the level of Incorporated Engineer (IEng). This sort of degrees as per the specifications of the Engineering Council must last at least 3 years full time. The MEng can be regarded as an integrated form of Master’s degree. It is a higher qualification than BEng (Hons). It takes 4 to 5 years full time to complete. An accredited professional MEng would fulfil the academic requirements for the Chartered Engineer (CEng) qualification. This level of engineering qualification is the best in the educational world of UK and is highly respected all across the industries. An accredited professional BEng (Hons) degree together with a suitable Master’s degree or appropriate extended learning to the Master’s level would also meet the educational requirements. Moreover, such sort of Postgraduate qualifications in engineering can vary through Postgraduate Diploma (PgD), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Philosophy (M Phil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in engineering. (Engineering, 2009) It is also possible to meet the educational requirement of the Engineering Council’s professional registration by means of appearing in the examinations organised by the City and Guilds Institutes. There are examinations at three levels: 1. In order to get registered as EngTech (Engineering Technician), one would have to take Level 5 Certificate examination. This is at the level of the first year of a British degree course. 2. In order to get registered as IEng (Incorporated Engineer), one would have to take Level 6 Graduate Diploma examination. This is at the level of the final year of a UK BEng. 3. In order to get registered as CEng (Chartered Engineer), one would have to take Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma examination, which is at the level of the final year of a UK Meng. (Engineering Council, 2011) It is natural that these qualifications can be obtained in the realm of civil and structural engineering too. At the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, the qualifications in civil and structural engineering should be approved by the Licensed Member Institutions of the Engineering Council like Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Highways and Transportation, etc. A technician engineer in civil and structural engineering has a challenging career and good scope in the industry. A Chartered Engineer in this field can start as a big earner. Requirements to Gain the Professional Qualification The most important requirement to obtain the professional qualifications discussed above is perhaps aptitude. Educational psychologists give importance to certain aptitudes for certain educational fields. Examples of aptitudes vary through artistic, mechanical, linguistic, etc. In common practice, psychologists use terms such as scholastic aptitude, medical aptitude, legal aptitude and engineering aptitude. There should be interest and knack in the candidate to develop proper engineering aptitude (Rao, S.N., 2002). This is a necessary requirement to proceed in the most appropriate route to personal professional accreditation. Moreover, an engineer would need statistical thinking and methodology to practice in the modern work environment. The learner, therefore, must be interested to solve engineering related problems aplenty (Ryan, T.P., 2007). In order to proceed in the field of engineering, a student must have passed certain number of subjects in the GCE “A” Levels and GCSE. A minimum of grade C is preferred. After completing pre-university education with Science and Mathematics, the student can apply for Vocational A-Levels and SQA Higher National Certificate. He can also apply for BTEC, Edexcel/SQA Higher National Diploma (HND). Entry requirement for Engineering Council Certificate (EngTech) is passes in two “A” levels (or their equivalent) in Mathematics or Science subjects. Completion of the Engineering Council Certificate or academic achievement deemed to be of an equivalent standard will make the candidate eligible for getting admission to courses leading to Engineering Council Graduate Diploma (Incorporated Engineer). After achieving the BEng (Hons) degree accredited by a professional UK institution or the Incorporated Engineer qualifications or equivalent, the student can farther take the Engineering Council Postgraduate Diploma examination. This will finally earn the student a qualification of Chartered Engineer. Moreover, certain exemptions may be granted to some students under Individual Case Procedure at this level (Kogan Page, 2006). Requirement to get admitted in a BEng degree course is successful completion of GCE “A” Levels and GCSE with Science subjects and Mathematics. Completion of HND with good marks would get the student admission in the 2nd or 3rd year of an undergraduate degree course. Several universities offer a foundation year before starting the degree course. These are suitable for students whose entrance qualifications are not of the required standard. Moreover, BEng (Hons) students with high marks in their second year are usually offered the opportunity to transfer to the MEng. Completion of BEng makes the student eligible to study the postgraduate courses like Postgraduate Diploma (PgD), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Engineering, 2009). Engineering Institutions The Engineering Council is the top regulatory body in the UK which regulates the standards and systems regarding the various British engineering qualifications. It grants approval to the different accredited engineering programmes by the different Licensed Member Institutions. These Licensed Member Institutions include Royal Aeronautical Society, British Computer Society, The Energy Institute, etc. These different institutions cater to the standards and approval of the engineering courses in different engineering fields. In the case of civil and structural engineering approval from Institution of Civil Engineers, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, etc. is needed. There are different universities and institutions in the UK which offer different programmes in civil and structural engineering. Some institutions that offer different educational programmes in this field are University of Sheffield – Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Bradford – Civil and Environmental Engineering, Robert Gordon University – School of Construction, Property and Surveying, etc. For example, the University of Sheffield offers undergraduate courses, MSc courses, PhD with Integrated Studies, Postgraduate Research, etc. The courses are approved by the different institutions under the Engineering Council (The University of Sheffield, 2011). The University of Bradford also offers similar degree courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The university programmes are properly accredited by the Engineering Council (University of Bradford, 2011). The different institutions may follow different methodologies and syllabi for the purpose of engineering education but the programmes are consistently monitored and standardised by the Engineering Council. The Role of Engineering Council Engineering Council is the regulatory body of Britain for registration of professionally qualified technicians and engineers. It holds a register for these. It also gives advice to academic institutions, employers, engineers and students on the very standards and procedures of registration. It is powered for the accreditation of training and academic programmes. The responsibility of granting accreditation and approval is divided among the Licensed Member Institutions of the council. The British Government recognises the Engineering Council as the national representative authority of the engineering and technician profession in the UK. It works in partnership with various other engineering institutions as well. Engineering Council would further regulate the profession of Engineering Technician, Incorporated Engineer and Chartered Engineer in the UK. The Engineering Council was established in 1981 for the purposes detailed above (Engineering Council, 2011). City and Guilds conducts on behalf of the Engineering Council a worldwide examination for those who wish to meet the academic requirements for entry to Chartered Engineers, but whose circumstances prevent them from pursuing an accredited degree programme, those who have non accredited degrees and who wish to undertake further qualifications to meet the required standards, and for those who wish to obtain a well respected British engineering qualification (Kogan Page, 2006). The professional titles which are awarded by the Engineering Council are well protected by the law. Registration in Engineering Council by different engineers and technicians is voluntary. The candidates would be required to possess an excellent standard of competence and skills through experience, training and education. Engineering Council is also a respected member of European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI). Conclusion Engineering is a challenging profession in the modern work environment. Globalisation requires the engineers to be competent and skilled at the global standards. United Kingdom needs a powerful army of engineers and technicians to combat recession and obtain economic growth. Therefore, the routes to personal professional accreditation in engineering are not easy. The candidates have to be sufficiently skilled, competent and up to the minute to become a professionally qualified engineer as per the UK standards. No doubt that pursuing a degree course like BEng or MEng is the best way to obtain in depth knowledge in the field and become a professionally qualified engineer. BEng and MEng programmes in civil and structural engineering provided by the UK universities cater to the global standards in this context. Else, if a student cannot pursue a university program for some reason, he can appear in the examinations conducted by the Engineering Council and progress through the Level 5, Level 6 and Level 7 qualifications in a step by step manner. An engineer must possess numerical ability, analytical skill, creativity, and most importantly, engineering aptitude to obtain the different engineering qualifications discussed so far and excel in the engineering field. An engineering qualification can serve as both a basic qualification and a specialised qualification, and thus it can open up several prospects. Reference List Courses-careers.com. 2010. Engineering Courses in the UK. Available: http://www.courses-careers.com/undergraduate/subject-guide/7126-engineering-courses-in-the-uk.html. Last accessed 22 February 2011 Engineering. 2009. Engineering Council Uk. British Engineering. Available: http://www.gumiya.net/engineering-news/uk/british-engineering-main.html. Last accessed 21 February 2011 Engineering Council. 2011. Engineering Council – recognising professional excellence – Engineering Council Home. Available: http://www.engc.org.uk. Last accessed 21 February 2011 Kogan Page. 2006. British Qualifications: A Complete Guide to Professional, Vocational and Academic Qualifications in the UK. London: Kogan Page Publishers Rao, S.N. 2002. Educational Psychology. New Delhi: New Age International Ryan, T.P. 2007. Modern Engineering Statistics. New York: Wiley-Interscience The University of Sheffield. 2011. Department of Civil and Structural Engineering. Available: http://www.shef.ac.uk/civil. Last accessed 21 February 2011 University of Bradford. 2011. School of Engineering, Design & Technology – University of Bradford, UK. Available: http://www.eng.brad.ac.uk. Last accessed 22 February 2011 Read More