Registration Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR REGISTRATION OF ENGINEERS IN BARBADOS

The Engineers Registration Board, which has been established under the provisions of the Engineers (Registration) Act 1975 – 11, has formulated the following guidelines to be employed in consideration of the qualifications for registration set out in Section 5 of the Act.

General 

There is a range of job functions, which come under the general umbrella of engineering, technical and related services: these include functions of the professional engineer and engineering technician. 

The Engineers Registration Act provides solely for the regulation and registration of the practice of engineering at the professional level and does not embrace the supporting disciplines related to engineering. 

A professional engineer is someone who has graduated from an accredited university or school of engineering and who has received not less than four (4) years of post graduate training and experience in the field of engineering. 

As there is no set standard, internationally, for the Degree in Engineering, and as wide variations in course content in engineering schools is apparent, the engineering qualification required for registration will be assessed in accordance with the following riteria: 

University of the West Indies

Graduates in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering courses are considered to be in possession of the necessary academic qualification for registration. 

The Washington Accord 

Undergraduate engineering degree programs, which are recognized as accredited by any of the signatory bodies to the Washington Accord, are considered acceptable academic qualification for registration. 

The Washington Accord is an agreement signed in 1989, between the bodies responsible for accrediting professional engineering degree programs in each of the signatory countries. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by those 

bodies, and recommends that graduates of accredited programs in any of the signatory countries be recognized by the other countries as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering. 

The signatory bodies of the Washington Accord are:

Further information on the Washington Accord can be found on their web site: www.washingtonaccord.org

Registration as a Chartered Engineer by the Engineering Council of the U.K. or registration as a professional engineer in one of the signatory countries of the Washington Accord or FEANI member countries is considered an acceptable qualification for egistration in Barbados. 

Europe

Undergraduate engineering programs in Europe, which are recognized by the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI), are considered acceptable academic qualifications for registration. FEANI is a federation that unites national engineering associations from twenty-seven (27) European countries. Information on FEANI accepted engineering programs can be obtained from their web site: www.fiani.org.

Other Countries 

The Board will seek an assessment of the Institution awarding the degree, diploma or other qualification in engineering. The normal channel for such assessment will be through the Engineering Council of the U.K. or other recognized institution.

Practical Experience 

In assessing practical experience in engineering of an applicant – in cases where applicants are not registered as Chartered Engineers by the Engineering Council of the U.K. or registered to practice in one of the signatory countries of the Washington Accord or FEANI member countries – the Board will apply the following criteria:

The applicant must provide evidence that:

  1. during the course of the four years’ experience required by the Act, he has worked as a graduate under the guidance of a senior professional engineer for a minimum of three years;
  2. during this period he has had adequate practical design experience and adequate site supervision or operational experience. 
    The applicant must also provide the names and addresses of two persons who hold a senior engineering position and who have been directly involved in supervision of the applicant’s work.