Formal signing of agreements to facilitate mobility of professional engineers

The Engineering Council has signed new agreements with Spanish professional bodies Asociación de Ingenieros Profesionales de España (AIPE) and Agency for Qualification of Professional Engineers (AQPE), which will facilitate the mobility and recognition of engineering professionals between the UK and Spain.
 
The agreements were signed by Alastair Coates BEng(Hons) MSc CEng FICE MCIHT CMIOSH, Chief Executive of the Engineering Council, Miguel Angel Carrillo, President of AIPE and Francesc Gonzalez, Director General of AQPE.
 
Alasdair Coates, Engineering Council CEO, said: “Engineering is a global profession and the aim of the Engineering Council’s international activity is to ensure that our standards are globally recognised and facilitate the international mobility of engineering professionals. The Admissions Pathways Agreements signed today create streamlined processes for professional registration in a straightforward way. This facilitates professional engineering mobility and maintains public confidence in the quality of professional competence in both the UK and Spain.”
 
AIPE are based in Madrid and AQPE represent the Catalan region, based in Barcelona. Both the AIPE and AQPE competence standards are based very closely on the Engineering Council’s UK Standard for Engineering Competence and Commitment (UK-SPEC) and their processes – including a professional review interview – are similar. Both organisations have had their standards in place for six years (with support from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IMechE) and award titles including Expert Professional Engineer and Senior Professional Engineer. Engineers registered with the Engineering Council, or certified by AIPE and AQPE are required to demonstrate they are maintaining and developing their professional competence through a process of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
 
While there is no legal requirement to be registered as a Professional Engineer to carry out engineering work in Spain, some areas of work are reserved and require registration with the relevant government department. These include Ingeniero de caminos, canales y puertos, Ingeniero Industrial and other engineering roles that involve sign-off of designs, planning and management of maintenance and document control. For the purpose of registration with the Spanish government the UK is treated as an EU member state until the end of 2025. Certification as a Professional Engineer may support registration for these reserved areas of work and is valued by employers in Spain.

Image credit | iStock