Engineers Ireland has published the next two podcasts in its series of three, which aim to provide information and insights to engineers who are considering applying for the title of Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland.
This professional title is considered the gold standard of the profession.
Within the Republic of Ireland, Engineers Ireland is the sole authority to award this registered professional title which is internationally recognised.
The two podcasts published, (both of 13 minutes duration), reflect on the value of being a Chartered Engineer at both a personal level and in the workplace.
In the podcast entitled 'Why Become a Chartered Engineer?' three engineers, Eimear, Philip and Laura talk about what attracted them to the profession of engineering in the first instance, and why they decided then to become Chartered Engineers.
It is downloadable here on our Sound Cloud Account www.soundcloud.com/engineersireland or directly here.
In the podcast entitled 'Gearóid Fitzgerald speaks about Becoming a Chartered Engineer', he shares his story including how and why he became a Chartered Engineer and the advice he has for any engineers thinking of taking the same path. His podcast can be heard here.
The first podcast was published last month (ahead of the January 31 deadline for Chartered Engineer Applications). This podcast, also of 13 minutes duration, entitled: 'Becoming a Chartered Engineer: Advice and guidance on the application form and interview' and downloadable here, aims to provide tips to engineers about completing our Chartered Engineer application form and what to expect when called by Engineers Ireland for your follow-up interview.
We are hugely grateful to Eimear Pepper, Philip Healy, Laura Woodbyrne and Gearóid Fitzgerald for their involvement in our series. (Short biographies of the four participants are below).
Please see this section of our website for more details about becoming a Chartered Engineer. Our next deadline for completed applications will be Friday, June 26, 2020.
Under Irish Law, certain engineering work is reserved for Chartered Engineers*.
Quotations from our podcast series:
“Attaining Chartered Status has given me the confidence in my skills as an engineer and demonstrates to colleagues, employers and customers that I am a competent and experienced professional.” Gearóid Fitzgerald, mechanical engineer, finalist 2017 Chartered Engineer of the Year
“I would advise starting to work towards becoming a Chartered Engineer as early as you can by becoming familiar with the competences required and ensuring you are developing each one through your experience and training. This will ensure you develop the skills of a well-rounded engineer and puts you in a strong position when you are preparing your report and in your assessment interview.” Laura Woodbyrne, civil engineer and assessor/interviewer
Other information
The Chartered Engineer title is granted by Engineers Ireland to professional engineers who, through a rigorous review process, have shown their ability to apply their professional competence in the workplace.
Our members seek to achieve the registered professional title of Chartered Engineer in order to:
• Achieve the badge of excellence of the profession
• Establish a seal of approval by their peers for their knowledge and competence
• Include their Chartered Title on tender documents
• Potential to increase their salary - Chartered Engineers continue to earn more than non-titled engineers
• Have their standard recognised internationally, providing a competitive advantage
• Set a career path milestone
The registered professional title of Chartered Engineer (CEng) is recognised internationally as the title to be used by professional engineers who are members of Engineers Ireland.
It has the same status as the professional engineering titles used in other countries. For example, in the US and Canada the title Professional Engineer (PE) is used, in Japan the title is Registered Engineer (RE), in Australia and New Zealand the title is Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), while the UK uses the title as in Ireland which is CEng.
*In relation to specific work reserved for Chartered Engineers, under Ireland’s Building Control Act 2007, they are recognised as one of only three professional groups empowered to act as assigned certifiers.
Therefore, the integrity and experience of Chartered Engineers as certifiers is integral to this process. They also have specific powers in relation to fire and safety certification and the construction of childcare facilities and nursing homes.
Biographies of the podcast participants
Gearóid Fitzgerald
From Glin, Co Limerick, he was awarded an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Limerick in 2006. Following his graduation, he joined Boston Scientific as a graduate engineer, before getting an opportunity to manage a start-up renewable energy company in 2007.
He then went on to work in the energy management sector with Aramark as an energy consultant before becoming a business development engineer.
He joined Irish Water in 2014 as an energy specialist and in 2015 he moved to a role where he was responsible for optimising the cost and consumption of the electricity consumed across over 7,000 water and wastewater sites.
He is now Ervia’s carbon capture and storage manager. He was a finalist in our Chartered Engineer of the Year award in 2017.
Philip Healy
He is from Mallow, Co Cork, and graduated from CIT (Cork Institute of Technology) with a degree in chemical and process engineering in 1994. He started work as a chemical engineer in 1995 and for the majority of the time since then has worked as self-employed contractor, mainly for Irish and international consultancies based in Ireland.
Most of his working career has been spent in Ireland, although he has worked on medium-term projects in England, Scotland and Lithuania. He has worked in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biochemical, beverage, and nuclear sectors.
He has been a member of Engineers Ireland and the Institution of Chemical Engineers since he left college. He became a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland in 2002 and has been an Engineers Ireland volunteer report reviewer and interviewer since 2012.
Eimear Pepper
She is responsible for technical aspects of aircraft lease negotiations and aircraft transitions project management within the technical asset management team of SMBC Aviation Capital.
She has 17 years' engineering experience, 14 of which are in the aviation industry. She holds a degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering and a MBA with distinction both awarded by Trinity College Dublin. She achieved chartered engineering status in 2010 and is an active member of Engineers Ireland.
Laura Woodbyrne
A chartered civil engineer with 12 years’ postgraduate experience in Ireland and the UK. Currently senior engineer with JB Barry in Dublin, having gained experience on various multidisciplinary highways schemes from inception through scheme assessment and during construction.
Experience includes technical roles, as well as involvement in project management, design management, line management, resource allocation, divisional responsibilities and business development.
She graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in civil, structural and environmental engineering. She holds a postgraduate certificate in construction project management from Edinburgh Napier University.