822P90315PCEUAE(NL4)(AM)

Career planning and progression of professional engineers invariably leads to appointments to posts involving responsibilities for management of physical and human resources. Not all engineers have initial interests and competence in such areas It is therefore essential that such individuals have the opportunity to progress upwards in their chosen speciality, area or function. Employer organisations should therefore aim to provide opportunities for promotional progression routes to seniority in alternative fields of management and engineering technology.

However, whichever route an individual chooses he or she should be aware of relevant management techniques and personal skills. This requirement is reflected in the Engineering Council (EC) Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). A single page summary is included in www.pceuae.net and through it one can download the recently revised full document covering CEng, IEng, EngT It was for this reason that such skills topics were included in the recent survey of PCE UAE members to determine the Top Ten Topics of interest to guide the Committee for programming events, themes and specific subjects.

Many qualified Professional Chartered Engineers will land up in posts such as Director, General Manager, Programme Manager, Project Manager, Construction Manager, Production or Manufacturing Manager etc in an Executive or Consultant capacity in business.. Indeed this was reflected at a British Business Group New Members Breakfast attended last week. Of 20 who took the microphone to introduce themselves five or 25% were qualified CEng and possibly 50% were present or potential EC Registrants. Occupations ranged from Executive Director (CEng, MIHT) of an engineering consultancy to Director (CEng FIET) of a College

While members may be well aware of Professional Engineering and Technology related organisations and disciplines they may not be as aux fait with those in the management areas.. In the academic area the Master of Business Administration (MBA)) degree is well known while the British Institute of Management (BIM founded 1940s) is now the Chartered Management Institute (CMI founded 2002).

Closely linked to the CMI is what I care to term the Institute of Business Management Consulting (IBMC) for the simple reason that the former Institute of Management Consultancy (IMC founded 1950) was founded by the initiatives of engineers who were involved primarily in improving industrial productivity from the 1930s onwards through the second world war. Today the Institute is led mainly by members in functions such as Accountancy, Finance and IT but is nevertheless relevant to Professional Engineers.

The PCE UAE outline Programme of Themes drafted last December for each month of 2009 suggested for March 'Management – Finance' However, in view of 'feedback' from members we changed that to 'Management of Time'. The Audio Video presentations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on 2009 03 03 and 10 were well attended and generated constructive discussion – particularly how we deal with e-mails, SMS and even twittering! Also, other changes have had to be made to our outline programme prepared last December and issued in January to include events related to the official visit to UAE of the new President of the Institution of Structural Engineers and to incorporate Chartered Professional Review (CPR) Interviews for CEng via ImechE. We list and later comment on the revised programme of events below.

Tue 2009 03 03 Abu Dhabi Time Management

Tue 2009 03 10 Dubai Time Management

Tue 2009 03 17 Dbai Visit to Workshop Labs

S-T 2009 03 21 – 24 Official visit to UAE by President of IStructE accompanied by his wife

Dr Graham Owens FREng, MSc, PhD, CEng, FIStructE, FRSA.

Tue 2009 03 24 Ghantout Reception, Address by President to Members followed by Dinner

Tue 2009 03 31 Ghantout Professional Review Preparation meeting & ImechE CPR Interviews

Tue 2009 04 07 Abu Dhabi Production / Manufacturing Engineering Topic

Tue 2009 04 14 Dubai Repeat of scheduled event of previous week

Tue 2009 04 21 Al Ain Visit to Manufacturing plant

Tue 2009 04 28 Ghantout Professional Review Preparation (PRP) meeting

The Official visit to UAE of the new President of the Inst of Structural Engineers (IstructE founded 1908) is particularly important as it is the first official international visit during his year's term of office. He and his wife Margaret fly on from UAE to Beijing for visits in China and later in Hong Kong.

PCE UAE Committee and members via the Honorary Secretary Er Roderick J Chisholm MSc(Eng), BSc, Ceng,, FIStructE, FICE, MUAESE are delighted to welcome and support the visit of the President of one of its main linked Professional Engineering Institutions (PEI). We have accordingly made arrangements for the President to meet key UAE National and British individuals and visit sites in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, rounding off at Ghantout where Dr Owens will address members on the theme 'Our Value to Society in a Changing & Competitive World'

The 24^th was originally scheduled in our NOTICE for March to be for Professional Review Preparation (PRP) for aspiring Registrants. All members are still welcome to attend but we have re-scheduled the PRP meeting to Ghantout on Tuesday 2009 03 31 where arrangements have also been made to carry out a number of Chartered Professional Review (CPR) Interviews for applicants for CEng via Corporate Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (ImechE founded 1847),

Our aim is to revert to technical topics and we had provisionally lined up talks for April on Production / Manufacturing Engineering related to the Building & Construction sector. This would ideally include a related visit to a manufacturing plant in Al Ain.on Tuesday 2009 04 21 and be followed by a Professional Review Preparation (PRP) meeting at Ghantout on 2009 04 28. Please refer to attached NOTICES for April.

Meanwhile, our Programme for March has been changed significantly. On Tuesday 2009 03 17 the scheduled visit was to be to workshop Laboratories of Jorg Fischer related to the plastic pipe welding demonstrated previously in Abu Dhabi. This has necessarily been postponed.

The originally scheduled PRP meeting on Tuesday 2009 03 24 will be complemented by a special event and be supplemented by the PRP meeting now taking place at Ghantout on Tuesday 2009 03 31. We had hoped to welcome and have a joint briefing meeting with a delegation of younger Engineers from Hong Kong but so far they have not confirmed proposals..

In a recent issue of 'Professional Engineering' a member comments on Engineering Council proposals to lower the minimum age for applying for CPR Interview for Chartered Engineer fro 30 + to 24. We would welcome opinion. Please e-mail these to our PCE UAE HonSec.

PCE UAE is an organisation of individuals not corporate bodies and as such welcomes support from you as individuals, so please e-mail the Hon Sec with any constructive comments and views eg regarding the views years back that we would not have a subscription in UAE as the majority of members then believed that what they were already paying in annual subscription and supplementary fees was more than enough to warrant return of a proportion (eg £10 pounds per member based in UAE.

Bear in mind that the UK based Administration Link to UK-based supporting Professional Institutions was changed in 2008. The ICE after 14 years decided to stop supporting PCE UAE in that role and arranged that the function be taken over by IMechE. Unfortunately we have been unable to trace when such transfer was agreed on our behalf, nor what provision, if any, was made to provide any financial support for PCE UAE from IMechE and other supportive PEI in 2009. The Committee is therefore most appreciative of some funding received direct from IstructE. Our Constitution based on Regulations for Joint Groups of Professional Engineers states that any funding support from UK-based PEI should be routed via the Administering Institution or direct to our PCE UAE Bank Account by such Institution HQ, We live in hope and also see corporate sponsorship support to our account.

Regarding social events, while we do have a Committee Post of Social Secretary we have tended in recent years to concentrate on our main aims of 'marketing' professional standards and qualifications, PRP, CPD etc. Also, many social and entertainment events taking place regularly. However, we suggest that members interested should consider joining the Lighthouse Club which now has Branches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It is a charity based organisation with aims which include raising funds to help families and those individuals injured primarily in the Construction sector. PCE UAE has a slightly wider remit than only construction.

Recently I was asked to provide the local contact for The Lighthouse Club and after checks on the web and calls to their HQ in Ipswich was able to provide the answer. I did attend an early meeting and was invited to introduce PCE UAE to Lighthouse Club Members. Please let me know if you require this contact.

PCE	PROFESSIONAL CHARTERED ENGINEERS	PCE
UAE	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GROUP	UAE