Career charters at Sellafield, Tata
1 Nov 2011
Professional accreditation can deliver some important career benefits for engineers working at various levels in the process industries as highlighted by two recent examples at Sellafield and TATA Steel.
With the desire to stand out from the crowd, Keith Skinner, commissioning team leader, Sellafield Sites Ltd, decided to embark on attaining a professional registration to demonstrate his level of expertise and knowledge.
Attracted by the fact that a professional registration was internationally recognised, Skinner worked with the IET to achieve his EngTech in 2003 and IEng in 2008.
In addition to the standards set by his organisation, such as internal competency levels, Skinner wanted to gain a registration for himself that would signify what he was capable of, to his peers and employer.
“No matter what your background is, gaining a professional registration sets out how good you are in line with industry-wide standards,” said Skinner. “It has also given me the additional confidence to take advantage of opportunities that I would not necessarily have gone after.”
While Skinner recognised that achieving a professional registration was not compulsory to career progression in his organisation, he did recognise its value as something that gave him an edge.
“In a competitive market and even internally within my organisation, the more assets you have the better. A professional registration has added one big string to my bow.”
Michelle Watt, departmental maintenance engineer, Tata Steelworks, had always been very interested in maths and physics, and decided at 15 that she wanted to attend university and study electrical & electronics engineering. She began her studies at 16 at the University of Aberdeen and continued for five years, eventually gaining her Masters degree.
“Engineering is a fascinating subject to study and to progress into a career. Nearly everything we use in our daily life involves engineering in some way or another and it is a thriving profession,” said Watt.
Following graduation, Watt joined the Tata (formerly Corus) graduate scheme in 2005 in Scunthorpe. Although finding the size of the steel works daunting, she already knew that she would be working towards becoming a chartered engineer, which she finally gained in 2010, through the Institution of Engineering.
Achieving this professional registration at 26 has earned Watt the title as one of the youngest chartered engineers in the UK and the only female electrical engineer on her site.
Outside of work, Watt is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ambassador and gets involved in school events to promote engineering and encourage younger students to consider engineering as a career option.
