Devaluing member status?

Like many of my colleagues and fellow members of the CIBSE, I feel very strongly that the recent changes to the admission criteria which allows non-qualified people to become Fellows and chartered engineers is very unfair and is degrading the status of CIBSE in general and the corporate grades in particular. Just because someone serves on committees and has long experience in the industry should not qualify them for Fellowship and CEng registration.

I am in favour of acknowledging long service to the Institution and the industry as a whole but this should be through the award of an honorary grade, without CEng registration.

The changes to the admission criteria now permit Licentiates and Associates to jump to the grade of Fellow with CEng registration on the strength of an interview alone. Don't get me wrong, Licentiates and Associates are the back-bone of our industry as they provide technical support to senior management and very often outshine their superiors when it comes to making a project work. However, if they are technically able to undertake the duties and responsibilities of a chartered engineer, but don't possess the necessary academic qualifications, then they should go through the tried and tested Mature Candidate Route.

It is difficult enough trying to improve the status of chartered building services engineers in the UK without our professional body working against us by admitting non-qualified people to corporate membership.

How can CIBSE expect other professionals within the industry to know if they are dealing with a professional building services engineer or someone with only honorary corporate membership and CEng registration? I don't think the RIBA would permit an unqualified person to use the title of 'architect'. In the USA, I very much doubt if ASHRAE would admit a non-qualified engineer to fellowship or permit them to use the title 'professional engineer'.

I have received comments from graduates who also feel that their hard work to become corporate members of the CIBSE and chartered engineers is rather pointless when they see Fellowships and CEng being awarded to non-qualified people within the industry simply because of their apparent experience. Indeed, at least two graduates said that they were in the process of applying for corporate membership of the CIBSE but are now applying for corporate membership of another institution instead, as they believed this will give them a higher status within the industry and because they see the CIBSE becoming an 'old boys' club. This is a perception we want to avoid if we are to retain our reputation as a professional institution within the industry and if we want to encourage more graduates to join.

CIBSE should seriously consider changing the status of those non-qualified people already awarded corporate membership and CEng registration thorough the Senior Candidate Route to the grade of honorary member or fellow and CEng registration should be withdrawn. Otherwise, the Institution's standing within the industry will be adversely affected.