Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.
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.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, while the rest are located in more than 150 other countries. The ICE aims to support the civil engineering profession by offering professional qualification, promoting education, maintaining professional ethics, and liaising with industry, academia and government. Under its commercial arm, it delivers training, recruitment, publishing and contract services. As a professional body, ICE aims to support and promote professional learning, managing professional ethics and safeguarding the status of engineers, and representing the interests of the profession in dealings with government, etc. It sets standards for membership of the body; works with industry and academia to progress engineering standards and advises on education and training curricula.
Professional qualifications in the United Kingdom are titles or awards granted by professional bodies. Many British professional qualifications were subject to the European directives on professional qualifications and are covered by amended versions of those regulations as enacted in British law. Most, but not all, professional qualifications are 'Chartered' qualifications, and follow on from having been admitted to a degree. The term "professional qualification" can also be used to refer to higher-level vocational qualifications in "professional" roles.
The Institution of Engineers of Ireland or the IEI, is the second oldest Engineering Society on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and was established in 1835. The institution primarily represents members based in Ireland.
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 Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) is an independent professional body and a registered charity in the United Kingdom that works internationally to advance the science and practice of water resource management and environmental resource management for sustainability. It is licensed by the Science Council to award Chartered Scientist and Chartered Environmentalist status to qualifying members. It is a member of the Society for the Environment.
The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) is the professional body for foresters and arboriculturists in the United Kingdom. Its royal charter was granted in 1982. The Institute grants chartered status to individuals following an examination process that includes a period of management or supervisory experience resulting in them being promoted to professional membership. Chartered members are recognised by the designations 'Chartered Arboriculturist' or 'Chartered Forester' and by the postnominals letters MICFor. Fellows of the institute bear the postnominals FICFor in addition to their designation.
The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management is the professional body which represents and supports ecologists and environmental managers, mainly in the United Kingdom but increasingly in Ireland and mainland Europe, and the rest of the world.
A Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) is a professional qualification in the United Kingdom that is awarded by the Society for the Environment through its 24 licensed member organisations.
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.
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957.
The Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) is a professional association and registered charity in the United Kingdom. The organisation promotes environmental protection and conservation, and performs related education and meta-analysis of scientific research. IES is a constituent body of both the Society for the Environment (SocEnv), and the Science Council and trains environmental technicians, chartered environmentalist and chartered scientist qualifications. The IES provides administration for two other organisations in the UK: the Community for Environmental Disciplines in Higher Education who accredit university programmes, and for the Institute of Air Quality Management.
Building services engineering (BSE) is a professional engineering discipline that strives to achieve a safe and comfortable indoor environment while minimizing the environmental impact of a building.
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.
An urban planner is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
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 Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) is the largest professional body for environmental practitioners in the United Kingdom and worldwide, with nearly 20,000 members.
