The Engineering Council is pleased to announce that in July the Permanent Way Institution (PWI) was approved as a new Professional Affiliate for a period of five years. This brings the current number of engineering bodies with Professional Affiliate status to 19.

Engineering Council Professional Affiliates are societies with an engineering interest who are closely associated with, but not actually licensed by, the Engineering Council.  They are an influential group, each of which has furthered the knowledge and understanding of a particular area or aspect of engineering and technology.

With more than 2,500 members worldwide and founded in 1884, PWI aims to provide technical knowledge, advice and support to all those engaged in rail infrastructure systems worldwide.  Members are either actively involved in the rail industry, retired or have a general interest in rail infrastructure engineering.

Jon Prichard, CEO of the Engineering Council says: “We are pleased to welcome PWI as a Professional Affiliate and hope that this is the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.  Several of our current licensed engineering institutions originally joined us as Professional Affiliates and then progressed to becoming fully licensed themselves.  The PWI has taken the first step in this process and could well become one of this number in the future.”

David Packer, CEO of PWI says: “12% of our members are already registered with the Engineering Council through the ICE, IMechE and IET.  Our aim for this affiliation is to develop the PWI so that it can provide the opportunity for many more members to become registered, initially through an agreement with the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE).  We will have a particular focus on members eligible for Engineering Technician and Incorporated Engineer, whose competence and valuable contribution to the industry can now be recognised through professional registration.”

The benefits of affiliation, for which partner organisations pay an annual fee, include the opportunity to offer professional registration for their members through an agreement with an existing licensed institution.  Staff and members are given access to information via the Engineering Council Extranet, networks and annual seminars, plus they have the opportunity to contribute to industry developments. 

More details on Professional Affiliates can be found here

For further information on joining, or to nominate a potential new Professional Affiliate please contact Brian Cameron on bcameron@engc.org.uk