Professional Registration Volunteer Peer Group
What it means to be an InstRE volunteer
Join a vibrant and growing community of InstRE volunteers. You will have the opportunity to support peers, potential peers, develop your skills, make new contacts and contribute to your Institution of Royal Engineers. We rely on our volunteers’ passion and expertise for everything we do. Being part of this energetic community of volunteers, you will find yourself inspiring and being inspired your peers and InstRE staff.
Our professional approach to everything we, and you, do is reflected in our approach to working with volunteers. We recognise the time and energy our volunteers give to their roles; it is our job to ensure you are supported and guided throughout your volunteer journey.
InstRE volunteers come from all sections of our Professional Membership. Members of all grades, backgrounds, locations, areas of expertise and interests find rewarding roles in supporting others. One common theme among our members is a desire to channel their passion for the profession into activities that add real value and make a genuine difference.
Engineering Technician Assessor
The EngTech Selection Board meet monthly to assess EngTech applications received from our members. Most EngTech Board meetings are conducted virtually with one or two “live” Boards each year, meeting here in Chatham. This blend enables a mix of assessors to contribute, as and when they are available. Each application is measured against competencies set by the Engineering Council. Board results are sent to applicants by the InstRE Assistant Registrar in the days following a meeting.
To be an EngTech assessor you must be an InstRE member, be professionally registered and ideally should have been EngTech at some stage in the past. New Board members attend their first two meetings as Observers.
Route Advisory Panel
The Route Advisory Panel (RAP), delivers that part of the Professional Registration process that assesses potential registrant’s qualifications and their engineering knowledge and understanding. The RAP is drawn from the InstRE peer group of professionally registered engineers, at Incorporated and Chartered levels. Members are appointed for a two-year term and may be reappointed for up to five years, unless you become the Chair, when you can add a further term. The RAP meets as required, hybrid these days with one a f2f meet to exchange ideas and update with some training. The Registration Handbook details the outputs from the RAP
Peer Mentor Panel
“A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained. It’s that feeling that someone is concerned about you, that they want you to succeed.” (Shawn Hitchcock).
The InstRE is committed to providing structured mentor support to all potential I/C. Registrants. InstRE maintains a pool of experienced professional engineers, for this function.
Professional Review Interview Panel
The Professional Review Interview (PRI) Panel; assesses all applications for Professional Registration and, subsequently, interviews all applicants recommended for interview at the assessment stage. The Panel Chair is supported by six members and specialists may be co-opted. Members are appointed for two years and limited to five years consecutive service. The Professional Registration Handbook details the full terms of reference.
Registration Panel
The Registration Panel (RP) is the Institution’s Member’s Committee responsible for Professional Registration. The role involves considering the PRR/PRI Reports and decide whether to confirm the recommendation. Members are appointed for two years and five years maximum. Process and assessor training is provided for all RP Members.
Professional Registration Committee
The Professional Registration Committee lead the direction for the Institution, as a Professional Engineering Institution. The PRC monitors registration process, self-assessment and audit, maintains common standards, promotes registration, and related registration activities. Panel Chair form the Committee, with a Chair PRC appointed by the InstRE Council.
CPD Assessors
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an integral aspect of an engineering registration. It is not sufficient to simply achieve an engineering registration, a professional engineer must continue to, at least, stay competent and, more notably, develop.
We complete a yearly audit of CPD, and all engineering registrants selected are expected to submit their CPD for assessment and feedback. Our CPD assessors and moderators take responsibility for the assessment of this CPD and give feedback for the development of critical thinking and development of one’s own skills. CPD that is adjudged to have excelled can gain the registrant a monetary prize for excellence.
Expectations
Our volunteers are at the forefront of our offering to registrants and therefore lead by example. Professionalism, personal development and support are at the core of our ethos.
We are The Institution of Royal Engineers – A learned society that seeks to advance the art and science of military engineering by sharing experiences, best practice and emerging thinking.
Our volunteers exemplify this drive towards military engineering excellence.
Getting started in your role
Our promise to you is that you will be supported in your volunteer activities with the resources, training and inspiration you need to put your skills and time to best use. In return, we do ask that you do your best to deliver on your commitments. We also ask that you abide by our volunteer code of conduct, and where appropriate our safeguarding policy. With all this in place you’ll be ready to go.
How you will be supported
The relevant InstRE Team is available to guide you through all aspects of your role. Via your staff team you will have access to all the guidance and resources you need to undertake whatever role you want. You will be registered for the dedicated InstRE volunteers’ Teams SharePoint site where you will find such resources. You will also have access to the training and CPD opportunities that you need.
Through your training programme you will gain a clearer understanding of the role and skills you need to succeed; as time goes on, you will be able to advance and update those skills. You will also learn from, and be inspired by, other volunteers. Expect to see forums, webinars and newsletters that keep you updated on what’s going on across your new community.
Requirements of your role
You will be asked to make a commitment to taking part in a minimum number of activities. This includes taking part in any training that may be necessary for the role, much of which may well be ‘on the job’. The good news is that this training, as well as the time you spend volunteering, can count towards your CPD. In addition, you will be expected to meet InstRE’s professional standards on behaviour.
Diversity and Inclusion – InstRE values diversity and works to create a fairer environment free from harassment and discrimination and one in which everybody feels included and valued. We strive to apply an inclusivity lens to every aspect of what we do. All volunteers are required to abide by our policy on Diversity and Inclusion.
Conduct – The InstRE Volunteer Agreement sets out how you can expect to be treated by InstRE staff and volunteers, and in return the standards of behaviour you will be expected to adhere to. The Agreement ensures all volunteers feel valued and supported, and know what do, should this not prove to be the case.
Induction – As part of your induction you will be required to complete a short training session on conduct. On completion you will be asked to sign a declaration stating you understand the requirements placed on you as a volunteer.
Safeguarding – InstRE is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of any child or vulnerable adult we come into contact with. In keeping with our commitment to the highest professional standards, our policies put child and vulnerable adult safeguarding at the heart of our public engagement activities. All volunteers involved in any InstRE activity involving children or vulnerable adults must be able to demonstrate that they have satisfactorily completed the relevant security checks, which must be current at the time of the event.
Safeguarding issues are rare and unlikely if a common-sense approach is adopted, for example ensuring you are never on your own with a child, children or vulnerable adult(s). You can find InstRE’s safeguarding policy at Annex C. Where relevant to your role, you will receive full guidance on InstRE’s safeguarding policy and requirements.
Taking your role to the next level
After a while in your role, you may want to widen your impact or enhance your skills. Many of our volunteers are active on social media, some have YouTube channels, and others support InstRE campaigns by recording content for use across InstRE channels. All enable volunteers to have further influence with other professionals and in many cases the public.
After a while you’ll find that you have enhanced your understanding of what proves most effective in delivering your role. You may want to put this to good use by working more closely with us and helping to design our strategy or tailor our offering. You can also extend your impact by encouraging others to follow in your footsteps by becoming an InstRE volunteer, or by helping us produce training content for new volunteers.
Drop your InstRE staff team a line if you’d like to explore enhancing your role.
Recognising our volunteers
InstRE volunteers find great value in their role, with many telling us they feel an enhanced sense of wellbeing, others that they have made career enhancing contacts, and some that they have learned so much in their role. Our volunteers don’t ask for recognition for what they do, however, we feel that they deserve to be recognised. Here are a few of the ways we recognise our amazing volunteers:
InstRE website and social media (We want to be able to say this but can we at the moment?) It has to be in place to claim it.
Have a look at the InstRE website and our social media channels and you will see countless stories of the amazing achievements of our volunteers. This allows us to share the achievements of our volunteers with large numbers of members and a far wider audience including the public and industry influencers.
Let our staff know what you are up to so that they are able to share your story and inspire others. Please do feel free to also share your successes yourself. At Annex D you will find guidance on social media as well as information on writing a blog post for the InstRE website.
National Volunteers Week
Volunteers’ Week takes place 1 – 7 June every year. We use it as a chance to celebrate and say a huge ‘thank you’ to the many members who give their time in supporting InstRE activities aimed at advancing the science and art of civil engineering.
We’ll be singing your praises across the InstRE website and social media. You can get involved too by using our social media templates or by writing a blog post to tell the world why you volunteer with InstRE. We’ll be in touch with more details as the week approaches.
