Professional registration

What is professional registration?

Professional registration is a voluntary means of demonstrating your competency as a technician or research technical professional (RTP). Registration provides independent recognition of your knowledge, skills and achievements whilst maintaining the exact standards required to join a global community of professional technicians. It involves being held to account by your peers for your abilities and adherence to ethical standards.

Our technicians and RTPs at Liverpool work in different fields and so identifying the best place to register is needed at the start of your journey. The Science and Engineering councils are the largest but other field specific areas may be more relevant. For example, The Institute of Science and Technology (IST) is now offering professional registration for technicians working in the arts and media as well as those practitioners using artificial intelligence. The technical network can support you in these decisions at the start.

What is the Science Council and the Engineering Council?

Both the Science Council and the Engineering Council are a community of member organisations that act as guardians of registration standards, managing the registers on behalf of members and licensing them to award professional registration. Both councils represent around 70 licenced professional bodies.

What is a professional body?

A professional body, association, institute or society is an organisation created by a Royal Charter or memorandum of Association to support a specific profession. Its role is to support members and promote professional standards.

Before starting your application for professional registration, you will need to become a member of a Licenced Professional Body. There are various bodies, all with something slightly different to offer but all will aim to support your professional development. Which body you choose to become a member of will be dependent on the work you do. You may want to join a body that focuses on the scientific discipline you were trained in or now work in, for example the Institute of Physics or the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Other bodies focus on those working in a specific industry sector, type of employment or the type of employee you are, for example the, the Institute of Biomedical Science or the Institute of Science and Technology.

Most professional bodies are licenced to award either Science Council or Engineering Council awards. Some professional bodies offer awards from both councils along with their own award. For example, the Institute of Physics offers all three Science Council awards along with three engineering awards and the award of Chartered Physicist (CPhys).

• List of Science Council Licenced Professional Bodies
• List of Engineering Council Licenced Professional Bodies

Professional awards

When registering with a professional body, members are invited to join a grade of membership commensurate with their qualifications and standing within the profession; usually affiliate, member and fellow level.

Bodies licenced by the Science Council offer three awards:

• Registered Technician (RSciTech)
• Registered Scientist (RSci)
• Chartered Scientist (CSci)

The Institute of Science and Technology offer the following in addition to the above:

• Registered Technician in the Creative Industries and Technologies (RTCIT) (not yet available)
• Registered Practitioner in the Creative Industries and Technologies (RPCIT)
• Advanced Practitioner in the Creative Industries and Technologies (APCIT) (not yet available)
• Registered Technician Artificial Intelligence (RTechAi)
• Registered Practitioner Artificial Intelligence (RPAi)
• Advanced Practitioner Artificial Intelligence (APAi)

Bodies licenced by the Engineering Council offer four awards:

• Engineering Technician (EngTech)
• Incorporated Engineer (IEng)
• Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• Information and Communication Technology Technician (ICTTech)

Which award is most suitable to you will depend on a mix of your experience, qualifications and current role. The Science Council website has a questionnaire that can help you decide as do the websites of most professional bodies.

Shortened application routes with reduced fees are available for staff that have completed an apprenticeship or a T-Level.

• Apply for Professional Registration as an apprentice

Benefits to professional registration

Along with being publicly recognised for your professional excellence and improving your career opportunities, becoming a member of a professional body can offer more benefits. When applying to become a member of a professional body you should consider the benefits offered for being a member of that body. Some bodies can offer structured CPD opportunities along with tools to log and reflect on your activities. It's worth remembering that the registration process itself can be a great tool to help with your CPD by providing a predefined assessment criterion it can encourage you to develop in a structured way.

The benefits that best fit your career goals will again be a personal choice, but you should make sure you check what is available before deciding. Benefits are varied between bodies but can include:

• Training and education in the form of courses, lectures, workshops or online resources
• Information on the scientific discipline in the form of journals and magazines or online resources
• Networking opportunities
• Career advice
• Support for the non-science skills required to develop your career
• Volunteering opportunities
• Library facilities
• Meeting facilities

Can I change bodies once registered?

Once you are registered it is possible to transfer your registration to another body. As your career progresses you may find that another professional body may align better with your goals or may offer more appropriate benefits. A fee may apply to transfer and you may have to run down your current annual membership before doing so.

How much does it cost?

You will need to pay a one-off registration and application fee before paying an annual membership subscription fee to the body you are registered with. The University is offering to pay the fees for your first year of registration.

The cost of membership can vary between each body with some discounting for lower salaried staff, but registration fees and application fees will usually be the same. You will need to check the website of your chosen body to get a full, up to date price. Below is the fee structure for both the Science Council and Engineering Council.

HMRC offers tax relief on annual membership fees paid to approved professional organisations. Most bodies will be approved but we recommend that you check.

• Claim tax relief for your job expenses: Professional fees and subscriptions

If the university is paying for your first year of subscriptions the body must appear on this list.

Fees

As part of the University's pledge to the Technician Commitment we have allocated a budget to support the first year of fees for all our technicians that undertake professional registration.

Science Council

Engineering Council

Institute of Science and Technology

RSci to CSci - as for the Science Council above.

For The Academy to pay for your first year's registration fee you will need to contact Jade Johnson and providing her with details of the company you are registering with and the cost of your registration.

• Email: theacademy@liverpool.ac.uk

The Academy will then produce a Purchase Order and provide you with the Purchase Order Number which should be quoted when you are completing your registration.

Support contact

For support on starting the process, please contact Jan Brett:

• janet.brett@liverpool.ac.uk

Additional advisors

• Aaron Barrass - abarrass@liverpool.ac.uk
• Karen Ryan - kryan@liverpool.ac.uk
• Sarah Gare - sarah.gare@liverpool.ac.uk
• Sarah Northey - northey@liverpool.ac.uk

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