Following on from our graduate day we have compiled some of the more frequently asked questions from the day and the answers have been provided courtesy of John McLoughlin (National Assessor based in Perth) for engineers looking to get charted in the United Kingdom.

HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD BE ALLOWED FOR THE REPORT TO BE CHECKED AND THE INTERVIEW TO BE ORGANISED?
Between submitting the report and having a PI allow 4 to 6 weeks, however it is dependent very much on the quality of the application i.e. its conformity with set out requirements.

WHO WILL THE INTERVIEWERS BE?
Interviewers would need to be Members of Engineers Australia (MIEAust) and CPEng. They would need to be of the same discipline and area of practice as the applicant and if the applicant is seeking registration, would need to be registered on the NPER. Note that IEAust cannot accept UK CEng interviewers.

Note that it is not a requirement to have UK located interviewers. In the past the panel has been set up in Australia, with the applicant in the UK. There is a protocol to ensure the bona fides of the interviewee.

Please liase with the Engineers Australia committee here and we can discuss whether you would prefer to have interviewers here or in Australia, and organise interviewers as required. Please tell us when you are submitting your report so that we can help as much as we can with interviewers, organising a venue, etc.

WHEN CAN INTERVIEWS BE HELD?
John would be willing to do UK interviews late in the afternoon Western Australian time which means that they get under way at around 9:00 a.m. UK time depending on the season.

CAN SOMEBODY CHECK THE REPORT BEFORE IT IS SUBMITTED FORMALLY?
John has kindly offered to do a preview (understandably not a full assessment) of one Career Episode Report. That should suffice to enable the applicant to complete the remainder in compliance with requirements.


CAN WORK PRIOR TO ATTAINING A DEGREE BE USED?
Up to a point depending on the individual case.

Answers courtesy of John McLoughlin (National Assessor based in Perth)

There are many young engineers who come to these fair shores to work rest and play, however working towards becoming a chartered engineer is often way down the list of priorities. This is too bad, because it doesn't take much time and effort. There have been a number of Australian engineers who have managed to achieve chartership status whilst being based in UK over the years, with one of the more recent cases being Max Kraus.

For Max’s story check out the downloads section.

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