Education and training requirements for a practicing civil engineer to qualify in Australasia and the United Kingdom

The making a qualified and competent engineer requires education, practical training, and a professional assessment. Obtaining a professional registration is an indication of competence and willingness to shoulder the legal and social responsibilities required to be an engineer. It also gives the general public the sense of confidence for engineering works designed and constructed by engineers. The requirements and procedure of registration can be stipulated in law, and/or controlled by professional institutions. Different jurisdictions have thus imposed different requirements to suit their conditions. While engineering education programs in most jurisdictions do not differ too much from each other, the requirements for post-graduation training among jurisdictions may vary significantly. The professional assessment systems after the required training may exhibit even more differences. Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. are or used to be a part of the British Commonwealth. As a result, their registration requirements and procedures for Professional Engineers are basically modeled on the British system, such as those of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Engineering Council, etc. of the United Kingdom. However, they may be slightly modified to suit the needs of these jurisdictions. In this paper, these requirements and procedures will be depicted. The system of Hong Kong will be described in detail as an illustration, as many other British-based systems are very similar. The reciprocal agreements among professional institutions for these requirements will also be discussed to understand the inter-recognition of professional qualifications among these jurisdictions so that engineers can be more mobile and an effective global workforce for the betterment of mankind.