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Plans to create a new Chartered Infrastructure Engineer title within the ICE’s qualifications portfolio are to be put to member ballot opening today. But why do employers and clients need the new qualification and who would be able to take it up?
When the ICE was first established over 200 years ago, the skills of its members covered every aspect of civil engineering. According to former ICE president Andrew Wyllie, proposals to add a new chartered status to the ICE will ensure that its members’ skills continue to encompass every aspect of civil engineering.
“If you consider civil engineering to be just concrete and steel, then the ICE membership status does not need to change,” explains Wyllie.
Wider range of skills
“However, if you look at modern infrastructure projects, they call for a wider range of skills.”
Wyllie points to comments made recently by HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston about finding the “sweet spot” to carve up a project into contracts covering civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering and systems integration.
“At what point did civil engineering become a third of the infrastructure project?” asks Wyllie.
“One of the lessons we should learn from the delays on Crossrail is that civil engineering had not adjusted to the changing demand for skills on infrastructure projects. Crossrail is a success in terms of civil engineering if we just focus on the concrete and steel, but as it’s all three elements, then it cannot be viewed positively.”
Wyllie believes that introducing the Chartered Infrastructure Engineer status to the ICE is an important step in broadening the outlook of the sector and ensuring it remains as relevant today as it was more than 200 years ago.
“In the 21st century, the ICE’s membership must be relevant to all three parts of modern infrastructure projects – civil engineering, mechanical and electrical and systems integration,” he says.
“The new qualification will avoid the civil engineering sector being marginalised.”
While the industry professionals that would qualify through the new route are not civil engineers by training, they would need engineering knowledge recognised by the Engineering Council. They would also have to demonstrate competence when it comes to infrastructure experience. It is anticipated that their qualifications would enable them to become chartered through professional institutions related to their degrees, but that these will be too general for their developing careers within the infrastructure sector.
What follows are some examples of people on types of career paths which would make them candidates for the new title. We look at what they would bring to the civil engineering sector as chartered members within the ICE and what ICE membership will mean to their employer, as well as their careers.
James has a BEng degree in acoustical engineering from University of Southampton.
He was initially interested in the acoustics industry because of his passion for music, but as he learned more about how specialist knowledge of acoustics and vibration affects the design of structures, he began to become interested in the design of bridges and tall buildings. His final year dissertation was on how acoustics could help bridge engineers understand when concrete is starting to fail.
This fascination with infrastructure projects led James to join the acoustics team with a major multidisciplinary engineering consultant in the UK after graduating. His current work involves applying his skills to understanding the impact of construction vibration on listed structures and how best to deliver projects while minimising and mitigating the effects of a scheme on surrounding communities.
Taking the ICE route means that my continuing professional development is closely aligned with my day-to-day work
James’ degree is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and he could currently become chartered through the IMechE or the Institute of Acoustics. However, as much of his work is focused on infrastructure design, he feels that ICE membership is more closely aligned with his career path.
“The Chartered Infrastructure Engineer route with the ICE means that I could become chartered alongside other engineers working on the same projects,” he says. “It will contextualise my acoustics knowledge within the built environment which I am now working in.
“Taking the ICE route means that my continuing professional development is closely aligned with my day-to-day work too and will, ultimately, make me more employable now I know that my long term career is focused on infrastructure. Becoming a Chartered Infrastructure Engineer through the ICE also demonstrates my ability to use my specialist skills across a broad range of infrastructure and building projects.
“For my employer, it means that my competence can easily be demonstrated to their clients who
all operate in the infrastructure sector too.”
Aamir always had an interest in maths and science at school and opted for an MEng in computer science at University College London to take his studies further.
But he had no clear idea of what career he would follow afterwards. During his degree, Aamir became interested in data analytics as a specialism with a focus on data modelling and the role of algorithms in forecasting.
When he graduated, Aamir joined a civil engineering contractor as a data analyst. On joining he had little understanding of the construction sector although his skills were key to the firm’s efforts to better interpret the high volume of data coming from its sites.
He can now see that understanding data is becoming critical for those working in infrastructure and he has enjoyed learning more about the industry. His current focus is analysing data from sensors embedded within cast insitu concrete on site.
Aligning my professional skills with those who work in civil engineering differentiates me from other data engineers
“The growing use of sensors results in large volumes of data, but understanding what the data means is essential to turning it into useable information by the engineers working on the project,” he adds. “The data we’re gathering creates real opportunity to use algorithms to accurately predict future performance of structures too.”
When Aamir started with the firm, he was the only data engineer. Now he is one of a growing team and he believes that the drive towards digital technologies in construction means that demand for skills like his will increase.
“Becoming a Chartered Infrastructure Engineer through the ICE would give me a clear path to professionalism within the infrastructure industry without which I would have been pushed into becoming professionally qualified with BCS [The Chartered Institute for IT] but that is too generic based on my experience,” he says. “Aligning my professional skills with those who work in civil engineering differentiates me from other data engineers and algorithm writers who work in other sectors, like insurance, for example.”
Angela has a degree in physics and a MSc in advanced materials science and engineering from Imperial College London.
It was the fundamentals of the science that led her down this career path, but she wanted a career that allowed her to put that knowledge into practice and use it to address the environmental challenges facing society.
She is now using her passion for understanding and creating innovative materials in her every day work for a building materials supplier, looking at how materials like graphene could improve the design of concrete and asphalt.
“Climate change means that we must look at how to deliver decarbonisation of the materials that the construction industry is currently reliant on,” she says.
Civil engineers’ skills are vital but they can’t be experts in all areas, which is why skills like mine add important support to the drive to net zero
“Developing new materials and understanding the risks and opportunities innovative applications of materials science can offer the sector is really exciting.
“My role allows me to work alongside civil engineers to look at what they currently do and use research and development to help create materials that can improve productivity on site, while also addressing the decarbonisation challenge.”
She is already a member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining but wants to become chartered with the ICE as she is mostly working alongside civil engineers and feels her career prospects will be stronger if she has Chartered Infrastructure Engineer status.
“My focus is very much on supporting the challenge facing the built environment, so it feels natural that I become chartered alongside those who I work with,” she explains.
“Civil engineers’ skills are vital but they can’t be experts in all areas, which is why skills like mine add important support to the drive to net zero.
“The industry can’t continue to use the traditional materials it always has if it is to reach net zero – and the same is true of the skillset needed to deliver decarbonisation on infrastructure projects.
“Working together to tackle the challenges of today with those across infrastructure makes a lot of sense to me.”
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In the above example, ‘James’ had only BEng degree (potentially without honours), is that sufficient Education Base for Chartered Infrastructure Engineer, when for CEng MICE, candidates must have MEng or equivalent?
Coming from a background in Water treatment and supply, I think this is a great evolution to the existing grade of Chartered Civil Engineer and a very positive move to acknowledge Civil Engineers are more than just the technical side of Steel and Concrete. Just to touch on Daves’ comment above, BEng degree would enable a different route to Chartership including the Experiential, Technical Report route e.t.c to demonstrate the equivalent knowledge of a MEng.
“If you consider civil engineering to be just concrete and steel, then the ICE membership status does not need to change,” I’m FICE, working on the materials and corrosion technology side of the industry, looking at durability, deterioration etc. I don’t see civil engineering as ‘steel and concrete’. My degree wasn’t a chunk of time just looking at steel and concrete. If our routes to membership actively exclude people who have the relevant experience and ability to become a chartered civil engineer, and want to do it, then this needs addressing. Not sure how adding another type of chartered engineer achieves that.
A narrow minded and incorrect view of Civil Engineering seems to be being used as a straw man argument here. A little insulting to the Civil Engineers who work day to day in a myriad of things other than steel and concrete. Also interesting to imply that the ICE believes the values of other professional institutions are not strong enough to prevent failures in big infrastructure projects…
Chris, I totally agree with your sentiments
Please can someone assure me that this has absolutely nothing to do with getting more membership fees?
Good luck with trying to get the DG and others to admit that. Actually that has been the suspicion from the outset.
Surely if all the those ‘professionals’ with skills in allied areas are so well qualified academically and with appropriate experience, why are they not seeking membership via the ‘conventional’ or ‘mature entrant’ avenue ? Many HNC and other qualification holders have followed that route and have performed very successfully as Chartered Civil Engineers.
This proposal should be rejected as it will only cause confusion in our relations with the media and public because all Civil engineers are engaged in infrastructure provision in one form or another.
Incidentally – NCE has been thrusting ‘diversity’ down our throats – but now, apparently, there are no European candidates for Infrastructure Engineer status ! !
I would also like to point out that I have always worked with masonry and timber, as well as concrete and steel, and more recently glass and GRP. I am currently undecided on whether the proposal is a good idea or if it will just dilute matters. The more comments that people make here the better as far as I am concerned.
I strongly support the idea of broadening the membership of the civil engineering profession to evolve with societal changes and future infrastructure needs. However, introducing a new job title of ‘chartered infrastructure engineer’ will undermine our efforts to educate the public as to what a ‘chartered civil engineer’ is and does. As a chartered civil engineer, I already regard myself as a developer and manager of infrastructure. The introduction of a new title adds unnecessary confusion and I have voted against it.
Wellsaid – see my comments above !
I’ve never seen Civil Engineering as being just about “concrete and steel”. For me being a chartered civil engineer gives the qualification to be a “prime agent”, subject of course to having the necessary work exposure and experience. If that capacity has been less enabled by the way we educate and train candidates then the answer is to the re-calibrate that education and training. In parallel that may well include opening the routes to qualification so less reliance is placed on solely academic journeys. I have no doubt that the status and influence of Civil Engineering has been eroded over my circa 40 years of practice (so far) and that few understand what a Civil Engineer does and why it’s of societal value. In fact I would say that rather too many in the construction sector don’t have that understanding as well as they should. That will not be solved by introducing a new “title”/”label”; an action, in my view, that will further dilute appreciation and value, by creating more rather than less confusion.
SO? The answer is to vote aginst the motion – but vote you must ! ! Turnout in recent annual ballots have been miserablly low, resulting in changes being implimented on the say-so of much less than 10% of the membership.