STANDING COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION & MOBILITY

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION PROCEDURES IN EUROPE

November 2010

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INDEX:

I. INTRODUCTION

II. PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

III. CIVIL ENGINEERING LEVELS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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ECCE MEMBERS INCLUDED:
BULGARIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC ESTONIA FILAND FRANCE HUNGARY IRELAND ITALY LITHUANIA MALTA MONTENEGRO PORTUGAL ROMANIA SERBIA SLOVENIA SPAIN TURKEY UNITED KINGDOM

This document was prepared by Fernando Branco (fbranco@civil.ist.utl.pt), chairman of ECCE Standing Committee on Professional Recognition, with the collaboration from all the above countries. Any question about this document can be sent to ECCE.

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I. INTRODUCTION

1. Recognition Across Europe The civil engineering profession across Europe has undergone significant and rapid changes in the past decades that have increased the body of knowledge required for the profession, including new areas such as environment, sustainable management, health, safety, energy, planning, operation, etc. These changes have created an environment in which professional civil engineers are required to possess greater breadth of understanding, together with increased specialized technical competence, greater than that required to previous generations. These changes have prompted debates about the adequacy of civil engineering study, and whether courses should be lengthened. Many countries have increased the period of academic study required for their professional civil engineers, as a consequence of the Lisbon Declaration and other initiatives around the world. Civil engineering professionals are frequently assigned to international projects and can be expected to work abroad, wherever their expertise is needed. This is especially relevant for Europe, with its open borders policy encouraging free circulation of licensed civil engineering professionals. As a reference, in 2009, the following numbers were identified by ECCE members as Civil