Rich Tourney

I am currently studying on a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Construction & Civil Engineering at MidKent College. As part of the programme we had a visit from Malcolm Peake from the Institute of Civil Engineers. We were told about what the institute could offer us as individuals and the benefits that could also benefit my employer, The Environmental Agency.

After speaking to colleagues at work and my tutors I joined the ICE as a student member and started to work towards my goal of gaining recognition with the Chartered Institute as an Engineering Technician. The application process was simple and easy to follow which required me finding and meeting up with sponsors from civil engineering and the production of a 3500 word application form, which I submitted and was successful at gaining an interview. I also had to write a presentation to be presented to a panel. The presentation was at MidKent College and I will find out the outcome mid-December if I can then be classified as an Engineering Technician with the Institute of Civil Engineering.

The presentation that I gave was in regards to a project that I worked on in 2019 which took 18 months to prepare. I described the process I had to go through to make the project run smoothly and how it was completed on time and on budget, describing the safety procedures that were required on the project, as well as the communication with land owners and with other external parties (local council groups). Within the interview, the questions were primarily based on the answer that I had given in my application form, how did I come to that conclusion, how did I come to make that decision and why? I felt I was able to answer the questions to the best of my ability.