An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

Chapter 8VerdictA Synoptic ViewWith hindsight, what have the life and times of the EngC amounted to ?The EngC came about, it will be recalled, as the ‘Engine for Change’ resulting from theGovernment’s enquiry, the outcome of which was known as the Finniston Report.It got off to a good start. There was a smooth take-over from the CEI in 1982 and the launchof the EngC was characterised by the first Council members’ clear vision of its Charterresponsibilities including the key phrase “..to advance education in, and to promote thescience and practice of, engineering (including relevant technology) for the public benefit andthereby to promote industry and commerce in our United Kingdom”. This reference about thebenefit to the UK was not to be found in the charters of the Engineering Institutions whoseprimary duty was to their own disciplines and memberships.The EngC rapidly established excellent relationships with government departments, industry,the press and the representative bodies of the higher education and schools sectors.However, the relationship with the Engineering Institutions was not so comfortable, partlybecause of a perceived rivalry between their own sectoral activities and the EngC Charter,and also because the EngC Council members were appointed and sat as individuals, therebeing no Institution representatives. Nonetheless there was helpful co-operation in such areasas the development of education and training standards, the international promotion of UKqualifications and the collection of Registrants’ fees.The first few years were marked by a range of strong initiatives destined to develop steadilyduring the lifetime of the EngC and be associated with its name. These included (in nospecial order):• The establishment of the computer-based Register of CEngs, IEngs and EngTechsholding nearly 300,000 names and addresses.• Regular communication with Registrants including surveys of salaries and opinions.• The Women Into Science and Engineering (WISE) programme reaching manythousands of schoolgirls and including several WISEMOBILES.• The Young Engineer(s) for Britain (YEB) competition attracting entries fromhundreds of schools annually.• The Neighbourhood Engineers scheme which, by 1993, involved more than 11,000engineers and 2,100 schools.• The ECRO comprising 19 regional branches involving members of all EngineeringInstitutions over the whole of the UK, and the associated Annual Conference.• Contact with industry via the Industry Affiliate scheme having over 200 members,mainly large companies, and annual Industry Conferences.• The system of ‘Nominated’, ‘Authorised’ and, later, ‘Licensed’ EngineeringInstitutions for, inter alia, the accreditation of engineering education courses, theapproval of training schemes, and the monitoring of their standards by the EngC.183