Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.
Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferable skills and theoretical academic knowledge found in traditional liberal arts and pure sciences education. It is used to earn or maintain professional credentials such as professional certifications or academic degrees through formal coursework at institutions known as professional schools, or attending conferences and informal learning opportunities to strengthen or gain new skills.
Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes licensed to practice engineering and to provide professional services and products to the public.
The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has been operating under royal charter, granted by Queen Victoria, since 1900. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, was appointed the first president of the institute.
An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. An education in engineering technology concentrates more on application and less on theory than does an engineering education. Engineering technologists often assist engineers; but after years of experience, they can also become engineers. Like engineers, areas where engineering technologists can work include product design, fabrication, and testing. Engineering technologists sometimes rise to senior management positions in industry or become entrepreneurs.
The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in information technology (IT), computing, software engineering and computer science, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Founded in 1957, BCS has played an important role in educating and nurturing IT professionals, computer scientists, software engineers, computer engineers, upholding the profession, accrediting chartered IT professional status, and creating a global community active in promoting and furthering the field and practice of computing.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871, and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) dating back to 1884. Its worldwide membership is currently in excess of 158,000 in 153 countries. The IET's main offices are in Savoy Place in London, England, and at Michael Faraday House in Stevenage, England.
The Engineering Council is the UK's regulatory authority for registration of Chartered and Incorporated engineers and engineering technician. The Engineering Council holds the national registers of over 228,000 Engineering Technicians (EngTech), Incorporated Engineers (IEng), Chartered Engineers (CEng) and Information and Communications Technology Technicians (ICTTech). The Engineering Council is also responsible for establishing and upholding globally acknowledged benchmarks of professional competence and ethical conduct, which govern the award and retention of these titles. This guarantees that employers, government bodies, and the broader society, both within the UK and abroad, can place their trust in the expertise, experience, and dedication of engineers and technicians who are professionally registered with the Engineering Council.
The Sydney Accord is an international mutual recognition agreement for qualifications in the fields of engineering technology.
The Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), formerly known as the Institute of Quality Assurance (IQA), is the chartered body for quality professionals. It improves the performance of organizations by developing their capabilities in quality management. As a registered charity, the CQI exists to advance education in, knowledge of, and the practice of quality in industry, the public sector, and the voluntary sector.
Following is a partial list of professional certifications in financial services, with an overview of the educational and continuing requirements for each; see Professional certification § Accountancy, auditing and finance and Category:Professional certification in finance for all articles. As the field of finance has increased in complexity in recent years, the number of available designations has grown, and, correspondingly, some will have more recognition than others. Note that in the US, many state securities and insurance regulators do not allow financial professionals to use a designation — in particular a "senior" designation — unless it has been accredited by either the American National Standards Institute or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers is an international professional engineering association based in London, England that represents building services engineers. It is a full member of the Construction Industry Council, and is consulted by government on matters relating to construction, engineering and sustainability. It is also licensed by the Engineering Council to assess candidates for inclusion on its Register of Professional Engineers.
A building engineer is recognised as being expert in the use of technology for the design, construction, assessment and maintenance of the built environment. Commercial Building Engineers are concerned with the planning, design, construction, operation, renovation, and maintenance of buildings, as well as with their impacts on the surrounding environment.
In the United Kingdom, a Chartered Engineer (CEng) is an engineer registered with the UK's regulatory body for the engineering profession, the Engineering Council. Chartered Engineers are master's degree qualified or can demonstrate equivalent work-based learning and have gained the appropriate professional competencies through education and working experience. Demonstration of competence is defined in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence, assessed through professional review of academic qualifications and professional development. Formal, non-formal and informal learning can be assessed. The title Chartered Engineer is protected in the UK under law by means of the Engineering Council’s Royal Charter and Bye-laws. As of 2019 there are approximately 180,000 engineers registered as a Chartered Engineer. Chartered Engineers are registered through Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) licensed by the Engineering Council which are relevant to their industry or specialism.
Chartered Physicist (CPhys) is a chartered status and a professional qualification for physicists awarded by the Institute of Physics. It is denoted by the postnominals "CPhys".
A chartered professional is a person who has gained a specific level of skill or competence in a particular field of work, which has been recognised by the award of a formal credential by a relevant professional organization. Chartered status is considered a mark of professional competency, and is awarded mainly by chartered professional bodies and learned societies. Common in Britain, it is also used in Ireland, the United States and the Commonwealth, and has been adopted by organizations around the world.
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) is the professional body for the plumbing and heating industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the Institute of Plumbers in 1906. It received a royal charter in 2008. It has 6,617 members.
