More than 70 engineers had progressed through the grades of membership over the previous 18 months and all were invited to attend the evening. The event was about celebrating the achievements of individuals, but it was also an acknowledgement of the work of key local employers which have been creating engineering jobs. Some of those including CDE Global, Caterpillar, FM Global, Project Design Engineers and NACCO which actively encourage and support their engineers through professional registration, were particularly invited to bring along young engineers, as well as the HR and training professionals who are working closely with the Institution to develop their workforces.
Stewart Kerr MIMechE, Chair of the Northern Ireland Regional Committee, hosted the evening, and was joined by Institution colleagues, Dr Colin Brown, Director of Engineering; Farah Baksh, the Business Development Manager for Northern Ireland; and Paul Tabern, the Business Development Manager for EngTechs.
Introducing the evening, Stewart observed: “It’s been tough for many during the recession, but now is a good time for engineering in the Province. Earlier this month approximately 650 new jobs were announced by engineering companies:, Terex, Bombardier, Caterpillar and Telestack.”
“And here we are to recognise and celebrate the professional development of so many of our colleagues. In all over 70 members in Northern Ireland have progressed their membership in the last 18 months. These have been at all grades, as Engineering Technicians, Incorporated Engineers, Chartered Engineers and Fellows.”
The new Members and Fellows were presented with their certificates by Dr Colin Brown, who described their career path and areas of interest. The celebrations then moved to a drinks reception and buffet supper.
Many of the members and their guests were keen to praise the success of the event. Gary Neill EngTech MIMechE and Jonathan Wilson EngTech MIMEchE from Caterpillar NI said: “The new members event was a great night. It was nice that the hard work put in was recognised by IMechE and in front of other peers.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Patrick Tallon, Malachy O'Boyle and Patrick Kelly from Project Design Engineers, who were part of a contingent of six from the company who attended the event. Patrick Tallon CEng MIMechE observed: “A professionally organised event that introduced new and potential members to the work and events that the Institution is involved with in a comfortable and light hearted environment.”
Malachy O’Boyle IEng MIMechE agreed: “A good chance to catch up with old friends and chat to new contacts at a friendly, well organised event at a pleasant location. Also, good recognition for working as engineers and, it was interesting to hear what others do.”
Patrick Kelly CEng MIMechE, who helped to organise the event described it as: “A much appreciated way in which to receive enhanced acknowledgement of attaining new membership or progression to Fellow status in the Institution. The event was informal and relaxed, so provided an ideal environment to meet with other new members and learn of their experience. Potential new members were also invited to the event and it proved to be an excellent setting for introducing them to the Institution.”
Rachel Herron IEng MIMechE, was one of two female engineers receiving her membership certificate on the night. She said: "Eight engineers from NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG), Craigavon recently progressed to become Members of the Institution. With Robert Busby, Andrew Smyth, Keith Edgar, and Keith Dawson, we were able to attend the new members evening with our partners. It was a great opportunity to meet engineers from the industry; Members, Fellows and the committee of the Northern Ireland branch. It has given me the confidence to attend more Institution industrial visits and seminars in the future."
David Burns FIMechE, Vice Chairman and Education Officer for the Northern Ireland Region said: “Like everyone who attended the event, I certainly enjoyed it. The event went down very well with individuals who were proud to be receiving personal recognition for their achievements. There was a good mix of professional engineers, from those in their late 20s to more senior professionals. I’ve been involved with the Committee for the NI Region for over three years, and this is the first event of its kind. The format worked well, and we would definitely hope to do another event along similar lines in the future.”
Kevin McConnell MIMechE of FM Global said: “I attended the event with my wife, and we both enjoyed the event which was very relaxed, in a good setting. The Institution as a whole has really moved forward with better communication and advertising of benefits, support and learning opportunities. Over the past two to three years, there have been a lot more Institution-run events in Northern Ireland to encourage or support people to move forward with their professional registration. The Institution is offering much better guidance and is doing and awful lot to enthuse engineers, who haven’t quite got round to filling in their paperwork for professional registration.”
“I must confess that I had left it a little late to become Chartered. In a previous company, I had worked closely with Institution Business Development Manager, Sandra Mulligan, to progress young and developing engineers, and all the while, I was not Chartered myself.”
“Attending the evening made me feel very good. It meant a lot to me to get Chartered as a professional engineer – it was the next step in my career journey. It was great to have the opportunity to talk to a wide range of people, from former colleagues to engineers who had been in the same company for 35 years. Being in a room talking to Chartered or Incorporated Engineers, EngTechs, or Fellows, managing directors or design engineers, everyone had a part to play, sharing experiences in a nice relaxed atmosphere. It was a really lovely evening.”
Stewart Kerr was quick to thank Colin Brown; guests from other professional engineering institutions; and for their hard work and organisation IMechE’s Helen Kozlowski and Patrick Kelly MIMechE and Trevor Stinson FIMechE, from the Northern Ireland Region Committee.
Stewart said: “As I look around this evening, I am encouraged to see so many colleagues of the IMechE who are also still learning: these are Members of all grades and stages in their careers, from design, manufacturing, operations, service and teaching, from heavy engineering, from process engineering, from power generation, transportation, defence systems and airplanes. I am reminded of a quotation by Robert Louis Stevenson: ‘If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success of fame, the gods have called him.’ We are still learning and we are people who love our trade certainly. All the ladies and gentlemen at the new members evening have been called by one of the gods of the profession to be recognised for your hard work, your commitment and your dedication. And for that I congratulate you!”
Farah Baksh, Business Development Manager for Northern Ireland, spoke of the growth of engineering and gave an example of one company which epitomises the increased interest in professional registration among engineers in the region: “Since 2010, B/E Aerospace in Kilkeel have actively encouraged their engineers to work towards professional registration. At that time there were just 2 chartered engineers within the engineering team of about 50 people in total. In the years since, the company has worked closely with the Institution to help 12 engineers successfully gain membership of the Institution and professional registration at IEng and CEng level, making good use of assistance provided by IMechE in holding application workshops on site, and in reviewing application drafts. This helped ensure the candidates present their experiences and competencies effectively.”
“The company currently has a further 10 engineers actively working towards membership of the Institution, including their first Eng Tech candidate, and engineers who have been through a Career Learning Assessment path. B/E Aerospace recognise the importance of continual learning and development in their engineering team for both staff development and employee retention. The company is now in the process of establishing an Monitored Professional Development Scheme PD Scheme with the IMechE that will have benefits in development of the graduate engineers enrolled in the scheme, and also the senior engineers who will be taking on mentoring roles.”
Summing up, Dr Colin Brown said: “This flood of new Members reflects the excellent work that is being done to support professional registration for companies in Northern Ireland. This surge in activity encourages individuals or sectors that might not traditionally have considered professional registration. In addition, Stewart Kerr is helping to expand the geographic reach of the local events and visits. The travelling time for some engineers to reach Belfast is too long to justify attending a committee meeting or a presentation, so having local events will keep engineers in touch. This is particularly the case for the young engineers who have been active within the University of Belfast but lose touch as they move into companies.”
If you work in Northern Ireland and would like support to gain professional registration, please contact Farah Baksh: bdm@imeche.org