Anecdotes of a Chartered Engineer - moving away from ICI
During the late 1970s the chemical industry in the UK went into decline so I decided to change the direction of my career away from smelly chemical plants towards commercial activities. I subsequently left ICI and started an MBA at the School of Management at Cranfield University of Technology. One of the top three management schools in the UK and Europe.
MBAs were much more prestigious and rare in the 1980s.
After graduating from Cranfield, I started working as a marketing manager, supporting the sales of high-technology filtration technology to a wide range of industries.
Throughout I maintained contact with my final year tutor at Loughborough, Dr Ian Stenhouse.
Dr Stenhouse encouraged me to apply for Chartered membership of the Institution and helped me to prepare my training & experience report.
The process was much less defined and structured compared to today, but still required demonstrating that you had gained sufficient real experience and responsibility to supplement your academic training.
I am sure part of Ian's encouragement was due to the fact that he was the Chairman of the review committee deciding on applicants’ suitability for corporate membership.
Life often goes full circle and I have recently completed the training to assess IPD reports, the precursor to providing the C&C report for Chartered status assessment and interview.