An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

Annex GMEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEENTHE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENTAND THE ENGINEERING COUNCILThe United Kingdom Government and the Engineering Council make the followingMemorandum of Understanding which records their joint commitment to enhance, strengthenand maintain a world class professionally qualified engineering workforce in the UnitedKingdom and their intentions in this regard. This Memorandum recognises that theEngineering Council is the national representative body of the Engineering Professionincorporated as a body corporate by a Royal Charter and Bye-laws granted in 1981, assupplemented in 1988, 1992 and 1995. It acknowledges that the Occupational StandardsCouncil for Engineering and several Industry Training Organisations/ National TrainingOrganisations (ITOs/NTOs) also play leading roles in training and determining standards forthe engineering workforce. The Government and the Engineering Council shall use their bestendeavours to realise the objectives of this Memorandum. It is not intended to create anybinding legal obligations between the parties.Article 1(Royal Charter)(1) The Government will use all appropriate means to support and foster the achievement bythe Engineering Council of the objects for which it was constituted by Royal Charter, that isto advance education in, and to promote the science and practice of, engineering (includingrelevant technology) for the public benefit and thereby to promote industry and commerce inthe United Kingdom.(2) The Engineering Council shall be responsible for regulating the Engineering Professionand in collaboration with the Engineering Institutions and other engineering bodies shallpublish and operate a code of conduct and disciplinary procedures.(3) It is recognised that a primary means of regulating professional practice within theEngineering Profession in the United Kingdom is through membership of the professionalEngineering Institutions and through registration with the Engineering Council. As the basisfor such regulation, the Engineering Council shall maintain a register of qualified engineers(CEng) (lEng) (Eng Tech) as required by its Royal Charter and references in thisMemorandum to the Engineering Profession shall be construed as references collectively tothose so registered. It is noted that the term engineering profession is used in a wider ordifferent context by other fora within the United Kingdom engineering community.(4) The Council shall aim for full participation on the Register of all engineers andengineering technicians practising in the United Kingdom. The Council shall, in associationwith all employers of engineers, encourage the use of the Register as the standard forcompetent professional practice.205