An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

1991-1995: THE FAIRCLOUGH YEARS 99was set up in 1992 to oversee the work of the three working groups as he was similarly keento promote this work as he was to see the Unification of the Profession..The outcome in August 1993 was a discussion document entitled ‘Review of EngineeringFormation’ [this should surely have been “Engineers’ Formation”] from the Directorate forthe Engineering Profession. The document was circulated nationally to industrial,educational, professional and other bodies, identifying changes to which the EngC couldrespond, and indicating options available to promote change. The document examined andinvited comment on the structure and needs of industry, pathways to professional engineeringpractice, international comparisons, the possible convergence of SARTOR and NVQs,resources for engineering education and Quality Assessment. Many thoughtful and detailedcontributions were received during 1993 and early 1994; these were independently analysedby Tony Cox, a former HMI engineer, whose results were published in May 1994.As a consequence, in January 1995 the EngC published ‘Competence and Commitment’containing proposals for new standards of education and training to meet the needs of Britishindustry tied to business objectives. Developed from the policy of the original SARTOR of1985, engineers and technicians who wished to join the EngC Register now had todemonstrate competence to perform their professional work to the necessary standards, andcommitment to maintain that competence, to work within the professional codes, and toparticipate actively in the profession. However, the 1995 ‘Competence and Commitment’document proposed changes to the requirements in a number of important respects. Theacademic base requirements were raised so that, for example, a 4-year MEng course orequivalent would be needed for those intending to become Chartered Engineers. Also NVQswere given much more prominence as equivalent qualifications. But by far the mostcontentious proposal was to introduce minimum academic requirements for entry toaccredited courses – in the case of honours degree courses, to three ‘A’ Level subjects all atgrade C.Although these proposals were the result of considerable input following the ‘Review ofEngineering Formation’ they created differences with the Institutions and others, not leastbecause the document could have been clearer and more succinct. In addition some felt thatundue prominence had been given to the NVQ system which was relatively undeveloped andnot yet seen by many as a viable alternative to older accepted routes. Nevertheless, in June1995 ‘Competence and Commitment, Summary’ was published and the Standing Committeefor the Engineering Profession agreed an outline for a revised SARTOR, and approved theappointment of a facilitator/writer. A draft outline was made available in December 1995. Itwas planned that a SARTOR Institution Working Group should develop this and offer it tothe BER. However, this work was destined to be prolonged into 1997, as we shall explain inChapter 6.Continuing Professional DevelopmentThe period 1991 to 1995 saw intensive development of CPD under the guidance of the EngCExecutive, Chris Senior. Responsibilities of companies and individuals for CPD wereoutlined in the EngC policy statement ‘National System, Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment, Framework for Action’ published in March 1991. Most notably, a nationalsystem for CPD was launched during a major conference ‘The Engineering Business’,organised on 19 March by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre in association with theEngC and with support from British Petroleum. The EngC recommended that engineers and© Engineering Council UK 2004