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Guidance Notes for Interviewers of Non-Standard Route candidates without an

accredited degree

This document is in addition to Guidance Notes for Interviewers

11-04 Guidance Notes for Interviewers of Non-Standard Route candidates

without an accredited degree

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11. Introduction

Candidates applying through this route have had a CEng panel assessment before

attending their interview. This document deals solely with the two interviews.

2. The Objective of the First CEng Panel assessment

The objective of this assessment is to:

verify the candidate has sufficient experience to make progression to the nextstage worthwhile

assess the outline of the proposed technical report and comment on whether thetopic and depth of reporting proposed is sufficient to show MEng Equivalence

The panel can decide to:

Accept both the work experience and technical report summary are judgedsufficient to continue writing the proposed technical report.

Defer the work experience is sufficient but the technical report outline isinsufficient and must be resubmitted before the candidate can proceed.

Reject the candidates work experience does not make them a suitablecandidate for registration.

Deferred candidates can resubmit their report summary to the Chartership Officer andask for the panel to perform a second assessment. Rejected candidates have the rightto appeal.

The candidate will write and submit their technical report to the Chatership Officerfollowing feedback from the Panel. After this final submission, the candidate hasreached Stage 4 of the non-standard (accredited degree) route and is ready for theirMEng equivalence and professional review interview.

3. The Objective of the Interview

The objective of the interview is to verify that the candidates experience is at the rightlevel and of sufficient quantity to meet the requirements for CEng registration. As withall interviews, this is checked through scrutiny of the application, written reports, theviews of the supporters and the candidates ability to describe effectively the details oftheir engineering responsibilities during the interview.



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This guide will outline what these requirements are and suggest how the interviewerscan ensure that, during the interview, all these areas are covered in the time available.The interviewers should bear in mind the following (extract from UK:SPEC):

Registration sets Chartered Engineersapart from engineers who are unregistered.It establishes their proven knowledge, understanding and competence. In particular

registration demonstrates a commitment to professional standards, and todeveloping and enhancing competence. So registration as a professional engineergives an edge to candidates applying for posts, whether or not registration isspecified in the job advertisement. Registration links a professional engineer into a

professional engineering institution, one which has been assessed by theEngineering Council UK as capable of providing comprehensive professionaldevelopment guidance and opportunities, with regular publications and web accessto assist in this, and many opportunities to network with colleagues with similar

professional interests. It also keeps registered Chartered Engineers abreast of jobopportunities and is a regular reminder of their professional standing and theirobligations to society. Employers of registered Chartered Engineers have theassurance of knowing that their employees have had their competence assessed,

their credentials verified, and their commitment to continuing professionaldevelopment established. They will have gained the recognition of their peers asmeeting UK and international standards for knowledge and experience. Maintainingregistration ensures that they are exposed to new developments in their profession,and provides numerous opportunities to benefit from these. It also means that theyare governed by a professional code of conduct, and receive reminders andassistance in determining their obligations under this code. In some cases evidenceof employing registered Chartered or Incorporated Engineers will be necessary for

the award of contracts in the UK and internationally.

The competence and commitment required of candidates for registration in all sections ofthe register is presented in the following structure.

Knowledge and UnderstandingApplication to Practice

Competence

Leadership and Management

Interpersonal Skills

Professional Conduct Commitment

Virtually all applicants for Chartered Engineer through the Institute of Physics comethrough the individual candidate route, as they will normally have a physics or other

physical sciences degree. Interviewers should understand its significance and the impliedrequirements for the contents of the Professional Review Report listed in Section 3.

*** Interviewers should be aware that all notes are kept by the Institute for a periodof six months following the date of the interview, for data protection reasons. If theinterviewer wishes to keep their notes, photocopies can be taken.***



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4. Pre-Interview

Before the interview takes place, the application will have been scrutinised and checkedby the Chartership Officer for the following requirements;

1. The application form has been completed satisfactorily and all the necessaryinformation has been supplied;

2. The candidate has in addition completed a Professional Review Report detailinghow they are applying knowledge of engineering in their work, evidence of howthey have met the various competence and commitment criteria during theirprofessional development (PD) as an engineer. The candidate should also show,either in the report or during the interview itself, how the deficiency in thevocational orientation of the academic course has been compensated for by PD;

3. The candidate has named two supporters, who should normally be Chartered

Engineers.

4. Referee reports have been received from both supporters;

5. The candidate meets the minimum requirements in terms of professionaldevelopment. Whilst no minimum time is specified for professional development,it is unlikely that a non-engineering graduate will have undergone an adequaterange of training and experience in less than five years, and more likely this willbe six or seven years for those who have not participated in an accreditedtraining scheme;

6. The candidate has, where appropriate, met the requirements for proof of MEngEquivalence and has provided written evidence of this.

There may, however, be circumstances where an interview may take place eventhough all these requirements may not have been met - for example the candidate maynot be able to name two supporters who are Chartered Engineers or they may bevisiting the United Kingdom for a very short time and need to be interviewed eventhough two referee reports may not be to hand.

The Secretariat will ensure copies of the candidates application are sent to theinterviewers at least a week before the interview if possible. The Secretariat is also

responsible for briefing the candidate on the format of the interview and on the areas,which will be covered during the interview itself. This will be done prior to the interview.

Provided with the application form are blank copies of both the MEng and generalinterview report form. Interviewers may find it helpful to make notes against the differentsections on this form. Blank copies will be provided at the interview for the finalrecommendations to be noted on.



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Classified/Commercial SecurityIf a candidate informs the Institute that they are working in a sensitive area either inaccordance with the Official Secrets Acts, or commercial confidentiality, then theyshould be made aware that the Institute and the interviewers are not interested in any

way in matters which are classified or sensitive and that the absence of security clearedinterviewers does not pose any handicap to the interview process. The Institute will notattempt to interview candidates under classified or commercially sensitive conditions.

5. The Interview

5.1 Preliminaries

The interviewers are asked to arrive for the interviews at least 30 minutes before thestart of the first interview so that there will be opportunity for a preliminary discussionbetween the interviewers and the secretary.

Interviewers are not required to assess academic qualifications (apart from MEngequivalence), as the secretariat will have checked that the academic qualifications meetthe required standard. Interviewers may however discuss with the candidate theengineering content of the academic qualifications (particularly at the postgraduatelevel) if they feel that this will assist them in deciding their recommendation.

The secretary for the interviews will normally be the Chartership Officer of the Institute,although they will not sit in on interviews unless they are expected to be unusual insome way.

Before the interview, the following points should be discussed:

Are there any gaps/discrepancies in the information presented by the candidatewhich need to be explored?

Do the interviewers prefer to allocate specific areas of the candidates applicationto the first interviewer and the other areas be covered by the second interviewer,or do they prefer to each put questions as they explore a particular topic?

Which interviewer will take the lead? Key issues and questions to be asked.

Normally 2 and a quarter hours is given for each interview, to be broken downapproximately as follows:

15 minutes preparation time for the interviewers before the interview starts. 30 minutes for the MEng equivalence interview to take place (where applicable) 15 minutes break 45 minutes for the interview itself (including time for the candidate to ask

questions or ask for other areas of the application to be considered).



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30 minutes for the interview report forms to be completed, and signed by theinterviewers.

In the event of an interview overrunning the allotted time, the secretary will ensure thatthe next candidate is given an indication of the likely period of delay.

5.2 The start of the interview

The candidate will be met by the secretary and accompanied to the interview room. Thesecretary will introduce the candidate to the interviewers and direct them to where theyshould be seated. Paper and pen should be available to the candidate, should theywish to illustrate anything, and a drink should be offered to them.

Before the interview proper starts, the lead interviewer should note the time and ask thecandidate if there have been any changes to their job title, description or responsibilitiessince the candidate first applied. Any apparent discrepancies, such as timeunaccounted for, should also be explored at this point.

5.3 The body of the interview

The objective during the main part of the interview is to allow the candidate to do themajority of the talking. Please remember - the time belongs to the candidate.Interviewers should aim at a relaxed and informal discussion with the candidate andavoid undue technical grilling.

The lead interviewer starts proceedings. Each interviewer will have his or her ownpreferred method for encouraging the candidate to talk about the material submitted aspart of the application. A little time spent in general conversation about the early historymay help a candidate settle down. However, if the preliminaries are prolonged, a

candidate may well complain that time was wasted on irrelevant matters, particularly ifrejected.

5.3.1 MEng Equivalence interview

The copies of the technical report will be sent (by secure means) to the interviewers,who will study the technical report in advance of the interview.

No copies of any part of the technical report are to be made and both copies provided bythe candidate are to be returned to them after the interview.

Institute staff, interviewers, members of the Chartered Engineer Panel and ProfessionalStandards Committee will undertake to keep the information in the technical reportconfidential.

Interviewers should satisfy themselves that the requirements for MEng equivalencehave been met and record the evidence to justify this. This includes all four aspects

engineering applications



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in-depth study of a field of engineering

project work

business studies. (NB not all of the aspects of business studies need to havebeen learnt of formal courses).

In particular they should determine whether the project work is of a professionalstandard worthy of a Chartered Engineer.

Interviewers will complete and sign the interview report form and will recommendacceptance or rejection of MEng equivalence (or the need for the provision of furtherwork or information) as part of their recommendation to the Chartered Engineer Panel.If the recommendation is rejection the interview process will be terminated at this stage.Interviews must provide adequate justification for their decisions in the justificationsection of the interview form.

5.3.2 Professional Review Interview

The objective during the main part of the interview is to allow the candidate to do themajority of the talking. Please remember - the time belongs to the candidate.

However, interviewers must ensure that the interview retains its structure, so that thecriteria, which need to be assessed, are addressed. Interviews that over-run penalisesubsequent candidates.

Whatever format the interview takes the interviewers should bear in mind that theyneed to extract the following information to make a report to the Chartered EngineerPanel.

* The following sections are cross-referenced to the interview report forms*1. Changes since original application

The lead interviewer will check with the candidate at the start of the interview whetherthe candidates circumstances, job description or job title etc, have changed since theoriginal application was made. If there have been changes, these are noted here.

2. Knowledge of Engineering

The interviewers should identify up to three areas of the candidates work where they

are applying knowledge of engineering.

3. Competence & Commitment

One objective of the interview is to assess the quality and range of the candidates PD.There is no requirement to take formal courses in order to satisfy the PD, but theexperience must be in engineering. Whilst candidates need to demonstrate that theysatisfy each of the major criteria, it is recognised that within each, some areas are likely



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to be stronger than others. The competence and commitment will also need to beinterpreted in the context of the candidates job.

A Use a combination of general and specialist engineering knowledge andunderstanding to optimise the application of existing and emerging technology.

A1 Maintain and extend a sound theoretical approach in enabling the introduction andexploitation of new and advancing technology and other relevant developments.

This could include an ability to:

Identify the limits of own personal knowledge and skills

Strive to extend own technological capability

Broaden and deepen own knowledge base through research and experimentation.

A2 Engage in the creative and innovative development of engineering technology andcontinuous improvement systems.


Establish users needs Assess marketing needs and contribute to marketing strategies

Identify constraints and exploit opportunities for the development and transfer oftechnology within own chosen field

Promote new applications when appropriate

Secure the necessary intellectual property rights

Develop and evaluate continuous improvement systems.

B Apply appropriate theoretical and practical methods to the analysis and solution ofengineering problems.

B1 Identify potential projects and opportunities.


Explore the territory within own responsibility for new opportunities

Review the potential for enhancing engineering products, processes, systems andservices

Use own knowledge of the employer s position to assess the viability ofopportunities.

B2 Conduct appropriate research, and undertake design and development of engineeringsolutions.


Identify and agree appropriate research methodologies

Assemble the necessary resources

Carry out the necessary tests

Collect, analyse and evaluate the relevant data

Draft, present and agree design recommendations

Undertake engineering design.



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B3 Implement design solutions, and evaluate their effectiveness.


Ensure that the application of the design results in the appropriate practical outcome

Identify the required cost, quality, safety, reliability, appearance, fitness for purposeand environmental impact of the outcome

Determine the criteria for evaluating the design solutions

Evaluate the outcome against the original specification

Actively learn from feedback on results to improve future design solutions and buildbest practice.

C Provide technical and commercial leadership.

C1 Plan for effective project implementation.


Identify the factors affecting the project implementation

Lead on preparing and agreeing implementation plans and method statements Ensure that the necessary resources are secured and brief the project team

Negotiate the necessary contractual arrangements with other stakeholders (client,subcontractors, suppliers, etc.).

C2 Plan, budget, organise, direct and control tasks, people and resources.


Set up appropriate management systems

Agree quality standards, programme and budget

Organise and lead work teams, co-ordinating project activities

Ensure that variations from quality standards, programme and budgets areidentified, and that corrective action is taken

Gather and evaluate feedback, and recommend improvements.

C3 Lead teams and develop staff to meet changing technical and managerial needs.


Agree objectives and work plans with teams and individuals

Identify team and individual needs, and plan for their development

Lead and support team and individual development

Assess team and individual performance, and provide feedback.

C4 Bring about continuous improvement through quality management.


Promote quality throughout the organisation and its customer and supplier networks

Develop and maintain operations to meet quality standards

Direct project evaluation and propose recommendations for improvement.

D Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills.



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D1 Communicate in English with others at all levels.


Contribute to, chair and record meetings and discussions

Prepare letters, documents and reports

Exchange information and provide advice to technical and non-technical colleagues.

D2 Present and discuss proposals.


Prepare and deliver appropriate presentations

Lead and sustain debates with audiences

Feed the results back to improve the proposals.

D3 Demonstrate personal and social skills.


Know and manage own emotions, strengths and weaknesses Be aware of the needs and concerns of others

Be confident and flexible in dealing with new and changing interpersonal situations

Identify, agree and work towards collective goals

Resolve conflicts and create, maintain and enhance productive working relationships.

E Demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards, recognisingobligations to society, the profession and the environment.

E1 Comply with relevant codes of conduct.


Comply with the rules of professional conduct of own professional body

Work constructively within all relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks,including social and employment legislation.

E2 Manage and apply safe systems of work.


Identify and take responsibility for own obligations for health, safety and welfareissues

Ensure that systems satisfy health, safety and welfare requirements

Develop and implement appropriate hazard identification and risk managementsystems

Manage, evaluate and improve these systems.

E3 Undertake engineering activities in a way that contributes to sustainable development.


Operate and act responsibly, taking account of the need to progress environmental,social and economic outcomes simultaneously



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Use imagination, creativity and innovation to provide products and services whichmaintain and enhance the quality of the environment and community, and meet financialobjectives

Understand and encourage stakeholder involvement.

E4 Carry out continuing professional development necessary to maintain and enhance

competence in own area of practice.


Undertake reviews of own development needs

Prepare action plans to meet personal and organisational objectives

Carry out planned (and unplanned) CPD activities

Maintain evidence of competence development

Evaluate CPD outcomes against the action plans

Assist others with their own CPD.

The interviewers are asked to grade the candidate on for each of these criteria, andthen to provide an overall score for each major category. This overall score does notneed to be the average grade, but rather how the candidate has demonstrated theirexperience overall in that greater category.

The possible gradings are:

A = OutstandingB = GoodC = AdequateD =PoorX = No experience gained

4. Length of PD & responsible level of experience

The interviewers are asked to record the period between over which the candidate hasdemonstrated a responsible level (RL) of experience at Chartered Engineer level. TheRL should be assessed in terms of depth and breadth of experience in the competenceand commitment. The interviewers should confirm that within the period of PD that thecandidate has been working at Chartered Engineer level for a period normally no lessthan two years.

They are then asked to record the total duration of the candidates PD. It is not

expected that the range of training and RL required will be acquired in a total period ofless than five years for candidates who have been on a structured developmentscheme. This is more likely to be six or seven years for those who have not hadstructured training.

When considering a candidates PD, it is important not to expect all of the criteria listedin the paper and on the interview report form to be fully satisfied. UK:SPEC makes itclear that the criteria listed above are some of those in which the applicant maydemonstrate competence. Many applicants may never have the opportunity to control



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other staff, or projects, or be involved in design, development or manufacture, forexample in some research situations, however this does not mean that they are notworking as a Chartered Engineer.

Whilst it is desirable to have a basic agenda for the interview, what is more important is

that the interviewers satisfy themselves that the candidate is making good use of theireducation and training in an appropriate engineering job. Interviewers should take aflexible attitude towards the interpretation of PD and if the candidate shows thepotential to go further, they should be recommended for Chartered Engineer.

As the assessment of experience during PD is a crucial part of the interview, theinterviewers may find it helpful to discuss with the candidate the following:

Their past and present work to find out the extent and duration of personalresponsibility. Try to draw out information that will indicate the degree oforiginality and professionalism of outlook and reasoning involved in reachingdecisions requiring the exercise of professional engineering judgement. When theinterviewers are looking for an accumulated period of four years PD during amuch longer period it is sometimes helpful to ask a candidate to indicate duringwhich period of their career they think they carried the highest level ofresponsibility.

Ask questions of a sufficient depth appropriate to the work the candidate claimsto be engaged in to ascertain whether they understand the technical content andthe fundamentals of day to duties as well as its relationship to other work carriedout in the organisation. The candidate should not just be familiar with the jargon.Examine implications of the work and level of decision-making required by the

candidate.

Ask the candidate to quote examples and to elaborate on tasks undertaken whichillustrate their professional contribution and responsibility. Ask further questionson their branch of engineering but in a wider context to get some idea of thebreadth of knowledge and interests.

Ask about longer term career/job interest/prospects

Ask the candidate how they keep abreast of advancing technologies and if theyundertake any Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The candidate should also be asked to explain the importance and relevance ofchartered status to them and their work. Note should be taken here of interestand knowledge in a wider field of engineering and for participation in Instituteactivities (for example branch or group meetings)

Some candidates may not have continuous period of experience at a RL. If this comesabout due to their particular employment, for example in the armed forces, then if



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breaks are due to postings and courses, the periods of RL should be aggregated. Ifhowever the RL of experience is diluted and where a significant proportion of the time isnot at the appropriate level or is not engineering, it is not permissible to calculate RL ofexperience spread over a long period. There should be at least two solid years of RL ofexperience clearly identifiable.

5. Support for the Candidate

The secretary will enter on the form the level of support from both supporters prior tothe interview-taking place. Possible options are:

Very Strongly Strongly Marginally Not at all

The interviewers must respect confidentiality, and not reveal any of the supporterscomments or opinions to the candidates. They may ask the candidate to clarify/confirmfactual information provided by the supporter.

6. Interviewers Recommendations

Once the candidate has left the room, the interviewers should discuss how to completethe interview report forms. This is one of the most important parts of the applicationprocess and adequate time, say 30 minutes, should be devoted to this. One of theinterviewers should complete the forms, in discussion with the other interviewer.

It is the overall impression, which is crucial when it comes to the interviewersrecommendation, rather than simply counting up ticks in boxes on the interview report

form. Would you employ this person as an engineer? might be the only really relevantquestion to ask oneself. The last three questions at the end of this section are the reallyimportant ones. Look for reasons why the candidate should be a CEng, rather thanseeking the reason for rejection.

In the unlikely event of the interviewers being unable to agree, separate interview reportforms will be completed by both interviewers and presented to the Chartered EngineerPanel.

There are four options for the interviewers in their recommendation:

Accept Reject Defer Ask for further information

The usual reason for a deferral is that the candidate has acquired some experience at aRL but has not yet completed the minimum period of two years.



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Interviewers should consider carefully before recommending deferral. Very shortperiods of deferral are a waste of time for good young applicants, when it can beassumed that the necessary period of RL of experience will be achieved in the nearfuture. If admission is to be refused, there must be an overriding reason.

If the interviewers do recommend deferral, they should specify in their recommendation

the reason including the identification of areas where the candidate falls short of therequirements, and what conditions the candidate must fulfil in the future in order tomeet the requirements (for example does the candidate need to be interviewed again?What additional information should the candidate supply in order to be consideredagain?)

7. Basis of Recommendation & General Comments

Comments on re-interview, length of deferral and shortfall, can only berecommendations by the interviewers. It is for the Chartered Engineer Panel to decideon any actions. However the interviewers should be expansive in their observations, itis not sufficient for the interviewers to make a short comment such as a very goodcandidate or not acceptable.The interviewers may wish to ask themselves the following questions, the answers towhich should guide them in following their recommendations:

What is done, the circumstances in which action is taken and how, and by whomthe decisions are made?

How does the work involve professional responsibility in engineering or itsapplications?

What is the candidates personal contribution, responsibility and professionalapproach?

It is particularly important for interviewers to comment when the supportingdocumentation is at variance with what they find during the interview and to includeexamples to justify the box grading of section 3 of the form.

6 Conclusion of the interview

The interviewers should give the candidate the opportunity to ask any questions relatingto the interview or to talk about any aspect of their application, which has not been

covered during the interview.

Immediately after the interview a debrief will take place between the candidate and thesecretary in the Members Room. The secretary will make it clear to the candidate thatthe interviewers do not make a decision themselves about the application, but that theywill be making a report to the next meeting of a Chartered Engineer Panel. Thesecretary should outline the possible course of events after the Panel meeting for thebenefit of the candidate.



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Under no circumstances should the outcome of the interview be revealed to thecandidate (except where their application for MEng equivalence has beenrejected).

Once the candidate has left the room, the interviewers should complete the interview

report form.

Once the interview report form has been completed by one of the interviewers the otherinterviewer should read it, and if he/she agrees that the report is a true record of theinterview, both interviewers should sign it. If the interviewers cannot agree on theinformation or recommendation, then separate report forms must be completed. Theinterviewers are asked to ensure that all interview reports for that day are signed beforethey leave.

The critical point to stress is the need for very full comments in section 7, for bothsuccessful and unsuccessful cases, as to why the applicant is judged to be so.

Comments such as 'Fred has not managed a team of staff in his company, but his ownunderstanding of the design of.... electronic devices and the way in which he hasworked with the production team to solve problems of manufacture, indicate that he isoperating as a Chartered Engineer' are most useful. Statements like 'the candidatefailed to show the standards required' or 'the applicant meets all the criteria necessary'are not useful to the panel, as they do not help resolve any debate at the panelmeeting.

5 Post-Interview & Panel procedures

The Chartered Engineer Panel will consider the interview report form together with acopy of the candidates application and supporting documentation when making adecision on the candidates eligibility for CEng status. Occasionally, it will be necessaryto refer back to interviewers for clarification or additional comments. The Panelsdecision will be communicated to the candidate in writing. If the application issuccessful, the candidates details will be forwarded to the EC(UK) for registration as aChartered Engineer. If the application is deferred or rejected, the reasons will also becommunicated to the candidate in writing, together with advice on what is necessary toachieve in order for the application to be reconsidered.

If a candidate wishes to appeal they will be sent the appeal guidance document and theprocedure will follow that laid out in the Appeals Procedure document.


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