As CIOB members will be aware, gaining Fellowship status from the CIOB demonstrates a very high level of achievement: Fellows are among the most experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the industry.
This has now been recognised by NARIC, the designated national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills.
NARIC has benchmarked the Fellowship grade as comparable to master’s degree level for those completing the process from November 2018 onwards.
The Fellowship route is also now more open than in previous years. Changes made in 2017 included the development of a new pathway to Fellowship – for the very first time, Fellowship is open to those who aren’t already CIOB members.
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This route doesn’t rely on qualifications but requires an applicant to demonstrate effective leadership of people, leadership within organisations and a contribution to the improvement of the sector.
The route to Fellowship for current CIOB members is similar to the previous route but the process was changed to reflect the industry’s changing needs.
Ros Thorpe, the CIOB’s associate director of education and standards, said: “The intention behind the changes was to better highlight the leadership qualities the candidates have developed and make sure the standard is keeping up with the needs of the construction industry in the 21st century.
The assessments, both for existing members looking to upgrade and those looking to gain the Fellowship directly, include a “reflective account of practice”, focusing on one project or initiative they’ve led. This is followed by a panel discussion, which is essentially a peer review of the candidate’s written submissions plus a question at the end of the session on a current industry issue.
The requirements for those who aren’t MCIOB are a little more testing – the written submissions must be longer and the discussion sessions take at least an extra 30 minutes.
Thorpe added: “We also hope we’ve finally removed the perception that Fellowship comes as a result of ‘time served’. I’d like to see more candidates going for Fellowship in the middle of their careers, demonstrating their skills and the value of their roles.”
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