Institution news
Lev Roberts-Haritonov CEng FIMechE, General Manager Engineering UK at the oil and energy company, said: “Chartership is a gold standard of excellence across the industry, and our clients value it very highly. We are striving for that level of professionalism throughout our small team, which includes two chartered engineer mentors and nine developing engineers at various stages in their career progression. We are also supported by two external professional engineers in our MPDS programme.”
Developing and running a structured professional development scheme, supported by Institution approved mentors, is key to the career progression of individuals, the satisfaction of mentors and the success of the programme itself.
Amanda Forsyth, Company Administrator, attended an Institution networking event in 2013. With the steer of Business Development Manager (Scotland) Sandra Mulligan, she began to access MPDS advice and set up a manual for the company’s scheme, which has become, she says, a key component in keeping it on track.
She said: “It’s very important to get the structure clear and develop a scheme manual. It meets all the competencies for CEng professional registration, ticking all the boxes for the
UK-SPEC and our company business management system as well. With mentors in place, and reporting dates set, developing engineers have clear deadlines and know what is expected of them.”
Neptune Subsea Engineering UK was audited by the Institution's audit panel to assess whether its MPDS programme was being conducted in accordance with Institution standards. The auditors scrutinised the company, how it runs the scheme, and how effective it is at developing the engineers to achieve the required professional engineering competences to achieve Chartered Engineer status.
The four mentors involved in the programme were interviewed and challenged on their mentoring of developing engineers. Those engineers themselves were interviewed and gave presentations to the audit panel, on their work and their CPD (continuing professional development) records, as part of review of their progress.
Lev said: “For me, and for mentors in general, taking part on this level is a fresh challenge to add to our daily jobs. Enthusiasm and commitment are what makes a mentor, and these qualities are essential throughout your professional engineering career. It’s a great reflection on our company that we have that level of commitment.
“By the nature of what we do here our engineers get a real breadth of experience – from client liaison to design, analysis, project management and installation off-shore. Our clients note that we are able to develop very well rounded and experienced engineers. They’ve been exposed to all the key skills and subsets that enable them to match their competencies to UK-SPEC criteria.
“The Institution accreditation itself is a valuable endorsement but more importantly the process of engagement with the Institution gave us constructive feedback. Opportunities to improve have been highlighted, and we are all committed to getting even better.”
Find out more about MPDS
Contact your Business Development Manager