Registration Subcommittee: the gateway to professional registration

FOR ANYONE working towards Chartered membership, the process involves several key stages: developing your experience with the support of a mentor, preparing your Competence and Commitment Report (and, if required, a Technical Biography) and attending a professional review interview.

At the end of each review cycle, it is the Registration Subcommitte (RSub) that considers and ratifies the professional reviewers’ recommendations. Where applications are successful, election can be confirmed. Where they are not, RSub ensures you receive constructive feedback to support your future success.

In short, RSub is a vital quality gateway as without it, professional elections could not take place.

However, vice-chair Hannah Forbes, (pictured), says RSub goes well beyond simply reviewing recommendations. It not only ratifies the assessments of Chartered members, Fellows and, increasingly, Technicians, but also plays an active role in improving the process itself. This includes providing feedback to professional reviewers and helping shape updates to the Competence and Commitment Report, with changes due to be rolled out in the coming months.

“The RSub also keeps a close eye on upcoming changes at the Engineering Council and represents IChemE on matters related to external registration,” she adds. “With IChemE staff, we work closely together to make robust decisions and keep consistency in the review of hundreds of applications each cycle.”

The subcommittee’s remit has also recently expanded to include oversight of the Professional Development Subcommittee (PDSub), which accredits Initial Professional Development schemes known as Accredited Company Training Schemes (ACTS), supporting engineers working towards professional qualification.

Alongside this, RSub flags risks and emerging issues to the Membership and Qualifications Committee and works closely with the Standards Subcommittee [more on this group in the next issue].

“As you can see, our work is varied,” Forbes says.

The people behind the process

Members of RSub are typically experienced professional reviewers who are either Chartered Chemical Engineers or Professional Process Safety Engineers and hold CEng registration. The group also aims to include CSci and CEnv registrants. Meetings are held virtually to support international participation. Early career members are also involved, ensuring that the perspectives of those still working towards professional qualification are represented.

Why this work matters

RSub and PDSub both play critical roles in maintaining IChemE’s professional standards.

RSub typically reviews up to 600 applications a year – without this work, members could not be elected nor transferred. They also provide important support and feedback to professional reviewers, helping maintain consistency, fairness and confidence in assessment decisions.

PDSub oversees the accreditation of ACTS schemes across 59 organisations, supporting more than 1,000 early career engineers as they work towards Chartered membership and CEng registration.

Ready to get involved

There are currently opportunities to get involved in both RSub and the Professional Development Subcommittee (PDSub), with IChemE keen to hear from members with relevant experience.

Karen Larking, IChemE service transformation manager, encourages experienced professional reviewers to consider joining RSub. The time commitment is around ten hours per quarter, including attendance at a formal meeting. “If you’re an existing professional reviewer and are interested in joining RSub, please get in touch to discuss what’s involved,” she says.

IChemE is also actively recruiting members for PDSub, particularly those with experience supporting early-career engineers. “We would be very happy to hear from you, particularly if you have experience as an ACTS manager, mentor or assessor,” Larking adds.