EfCSL’s contribution to the evolution of the initial Professional Development of young Engineers in Sierra Leone.

EfCSL’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE INITIAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG ENGINEERS IN SIERRA LEONE.

From the earliest days of EfCSL’s establishment, support for the development of professional engineering standards has been a key objective. EfCSL was instrumental in re-establishing an in-country UK Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Representative in Sierra Leone, with Trudy Morgan assuming that important role in 2012 after a gap of over 20 years. This link with ICE created the opportunity for EfCSL Mentors to support graduates along the ICE pathway to Incorporated and Chartered Engineer (IEng and CEng).

In 2016, a successful bid to the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) under their Africa Catalyst Project 2 (ACP2) included a component of work involving several graduate engineers from 3 main engineering disciplines in attaining the UK PEI qualification as a pilot project.  The first step is assessing University of Sierra Leone (USL) Degrees against the UK PEI’s criteria for meeting the academic standard required for Membership and UK Registration at IEng or CEng.

All ten were deemed to meet the academic standards for the UK PEIs, with graduates with postgraduate degrees from International universities (mainly the UK) being admitted for CEng and the USL B.Eng. (Hons) candidates assessed as suitable for IEng.   One-to-one mentoring by EfCSL Members commenced immediately, and in 2021, EfCSL conducted a review of progress.

For a range of reasons, it was agreed that it was both advantageous and entirely feasible for EfCSL to create, in conjunction with SLIE, an IPD Programme within Sierra Leone based on the identical UK Engineering Council competencies (UKSPEC4.).  EfCSL believed this to be more affordable for most candidates in Sierra Leone. It was hoped that adding the local dimension would increase potential candidates’ commitment to opt to be professionally qualified.

The initial pilot trial of 18 Graduates selected from Trudy Morgan’s Young Engineers’ Corps was supported by 7 Mentors, mainly but not exclusively EfCSL Members located within the UK. With funding obtained from ACP 3 in 2022, EfCSL was able to provide laptops to the graduates participating in the Pilot Trial, as our experience showed that reliance on Mobile Phones was impracticable.

After 12 months, SLIE and EfCSL were able to use the evidence obtained during this ongoing trial to bid for funding to support a company-based IPD scheme and obtain laptops to support it.  The reach of IPD could be substantially broadened within Sierra Leone if, instead of one-to-one Mentoring, EfCSL support could be focussed additionally towards Company Based Schemes where EfCSL could advise and support the development of far larger numbers of young professional engineers.  At the same time, it was intended that EfCSL could support the development of a local, company-based mentorship culture.

This proposal moved forward, funded under ACP 4 and in addition. An exchange opportunity was arranged for a Sierra Leonean IPD participant to visit the offices of WSP in Manchester to gain exposure to Engineering Practice in the UK.  The exchange was a complete success, but whilst the company-based initiative raised the profile of IPD within the Professional Engineering Community in Sierra Leone and provided much-needed laptops, it did not achieve a lasting degree of embedment.  EfCSL had identified the risk to the trial’s continuity presented by the national elections in 2023. In the event, this did impact the trial.

Meanwhile, many of those Graduates from the earlier pilot trial have continued to develop, and their numbers have incrementally increased.  EfCSL has conducted one-to-one sessions, conference presentations, Weekly Mentor/Mentee forums, and a wide variety of development events. It has also worked with two companies to develop schemes that are growing in maturity.  Additionally, EfCSL has raised funds for the further delivery of laptops to satisfy all the committed IPD participants on a growing list, which now totals 30 graduates.  WSP has been sufficiently impressed by EfCSL’s efforts to promise further laptops in future, and we are hugely grateful for this.

Looking back to the outset of EfCSL’s engagement, the social, cultural, economic and technical barriers to making this progression in Sierra Leone were perhaps underestimated.  In the absence of any directly equivalent local registration requirement, the value of UK Professional Engineering Institution Membership was viewed as an expensive luxury rather than underpinning their future career plans.

Today, there is room for optimism on several accounts:

1. The 2022 Professional Engineers Registration Council (PERC) Act creates a body responsible for defining and enforcing a regulatory regime that defines the Attributes to be demonstrated by Professional Engineers fulfilling the roles of ‘Competent Persons’ in all other legislation. 
2. PERC and SLIE (including EfCSL Members) participated in the production of the August 2023 Report on the Competency Requirements for Professional Engineers, and these requirements, which broadly mirror the ICE Attributes, are reflected in all SLIE/EfCSL IPD Scheme Documentation.
3. The SLIE Website, which has been developing a Continuous Professional Development recording site during this period, is now being expanded to accommodate IPD records.
4. SLIE and PERC are considering the necessary transition arrangements in readiness for the introduction of the three levels of Professional Registration: Engineering Technician, IEng, and CEng. This will be a mandatory legal requirement for all practising professional engineers in Sierra Leone.
5. The emergence of a SLIE Young Professional Engineers Forum (YPEF) offers EfCSL the opportunity to interface with and support Developing Professional Engineers across Sierra Leone. It is probably within this group that future Mentors will emerge.
6. There is a widespread realisation that collaborative business relationships are essential to creating sustainable programmes to meet the challenges of the energy revolution. Besides the breadth of business, cultural, behavioural, and objective alignments that collaboration demands, mutual confidence in the collaborators’ competence is fundamental. In Professional Engineering Terms, this is unlikely to be achieved without the presence of Professional Engineers registered to internationally accepted standards.

EfCSL is committed to supporting this direction of travel.