Jade’s current duties as a site technical specialist include providing consultancy services on fabrication, welding and materials technology to projects and operating units. This involves assessing and approving contractor weld procedure specifications, being a point of contact for site welding issues and liaising between the Senior Welding Engineer, the relevant welding department, customers and notified bodies, as well as assisting in the delivery of department safety targets. Jade confirmed that, as a nuclear professional, ‘delivering high standards of nuclear safety is a responsibility in all aspects of my job role.’

Having held EngTech status, Jade was encouraged to pursue her IEng registration, adding that, ‘I believed it was important to be recognised by my peers; mainly for recognition of competence, commitment and evidence of expertise.’ She added that, ’I believe it demonstrates a professional attitude and can also lead to improved career prospects and employability.’

Using the TWI website to guide her through the required documentation as well as getting advice from TWI’s Membership team about interviews, Jade also sought help from her manager to complete her IEng registration. Taking the route of an accredited degree, she notes how important it was to maintain a record of her continuing professional development (CPD) activities. Jade explained, ‘My advice is to keep an up-to-date record of CPD and the supporting evidence. It makes completing the criteria evidence much simpler having examples of personal performance, projects worked, networking and training to hand.’

Having become a professional Member, Jade has subsequently benefitted from internal promotions, while the requirement to keep on top of her CPD has created clear evidence of her achievements. She noted that, ‘CPD helps me to identify areas of improvement, which in turn support my performance management agreement with my employer.’

With regard to her employer, Jade believes that they have also benefitted as ‘they have a team member that demonstrates a professional attitude and is recognised by their peers; with recognition of competence, commitment and evidence of expertise.’

However, Jade has not finished with her career development yet, as she revealed: ‘Currently my aim is to become a chartered engineer. Beyond this I aim to continue adding to my professional development and experience in my role as a welding subject matter expert (SME) for Sellafield Ltd.’

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