To further strengthen the construction of engineering competency assessors and improve engineering competency assessments, the Chinese Society of Engineers (CSE) held the 2021 First Exchange Seminar of the Candidate Assessors of Engineering Competency Assessment on June 16-18 in Changsha, Hunan Province according to its plan of international mutual recognition of engineering qualifications for 2021. More than 100 professionals attended the event, including 75 candidate assessors and 11 assessors selected from 9 national societies as well as relevant working secretaries.
During the seminar, Fang Siping, Head of the Science and Technology Talent Service Division of the CAST for Professional Training and Services (CSE’s Secretariat) delivered a special report entitled “CSE and Mutual Recognition of Engineering Qualifications”. He reported on the CSE’s establishment background, work foundation, vision and mission, objectives and tasks, as well as key tasks, comprehensively introduced the CAST’s international mutual recognition of engineering qualification, and stressed the importance of building a team of assessors.
The discussion session was led by Shangguan Qianqian, senior trainer of the IET’s certification program of international engineering qualifications, who was assisted by An Chenguang, Christine Tan and Jonathan Goh, professional consultants of the program. The participants were divided into 16 groups, and each group was guided by assessors or experts through the whole process. The event was composed of three stages： First of all, interpreted the General Specification of Competency Assessment for Engineers was interpreted from an international perspective, and introduced the assessment process and assessor responsibilities were introduced. Second, the participants analyzed practical cases and learned skills of reviewing application materials and conducting interview assessments. Third, carried out engineering competency assessment drills were carried out on a per-team basis. In the material review process, the candidate-assessors reviewed the application forms of other team members. In the interview process, they acted in the capacity of applicants, interviewers and observers in turn, and were trained to discover problems and improve their capabilities through many rounds of interviews in the assessment process.
More than 100 people participated in the seminar, the largest scale ever since. This three-day event was characterized by a comprehensive introduction to the CSE and the international mutual recognition of engineering qualifications, and specific discussions over the procedures of engineering competency assessment. The candidate assessors carried out heated discussions, forming a sound seminar atmosphere, and they are expected to become a strong reserve force of engineering competency assessors.
