Why apply, what’s in it for me, what do I get for my membership?

The main advantage of corporate membership of ZIE is recognition and continuous career development. Being a corporate member of ZIE will indicate to your employer, colleagues, clients, managers, recruiters and future managers and employers that you have attained a level of competence and commitment that is recognisable by an engineering institution such as the ZIE.

By completing the application process you will also identify if there are any gaps in your underpinning knowledge, work experience, competency and commitment that might be holding you back. By recognising and giving attention to these gaps, you will be able to move ahead quicker in your engineering career. It will also show that you are serious about your career, allow you to stand for the ZIE UK Branch Committee and/or ZIE Board and help you to attain higher levels of membership, such as Fellow of the ZIE.

There are many benefits to being a ZIE UK member. The branch derives its membership from almost all engineering disciplines and it is highly probable that you will meet up with people who are of the same profession and discipline with whom you will share rewarding experiences.

Is there a way that I can learn more about ZIE UK membership before I make a commitment?

Prospective members are invited to come to ZIE UK meetings and meet with current members and other prospective members and experience first hand what our ZIE is all about. The branch also encourages prospective members to discuss the benefits of membership with current members, Branch Committee Members and the ZIE at large.

A cordial invitation is being extended to you to our next branch meeting details of which are available on this site. A copy of the ZIE UK branch constitution availble on this web site provide more information about ZIE UK.

I commend the rigorous process being adopted prior to admission as a corporate member of the ZIE to ensure that the appropriate grade is assigned to prospective members. However I would appreciate clarification on procedures for engineers who have achieved chartered engineer status with other engineering institutions ie. Engineers Ireland, IStructE, ICE , IET, IMechE, IHT etc. Is corporate membership automatic?

ZIE currently does not have mutual recognition agreements, also known as reciprocal recognition agreements with International Engineering Institutions. It also is not a signatory to what they refer to as the Washington, Sydney and Dublin Accords. These are international agreements between qualifying bodies which recognise that the professional qualifications of one partner are substantially equivalent to the corresponding professional qualifications of the other partner. These agreements also recognise that the assessment processes for the award of professional qualifications are substantially equivalent. The agreements provide exemptions from all or part of the assessment process for the professional qualifications, although these are exercised at the discretion of each partner.

Despite the foregoing ZIE exercise exemptions from almost all of the qualification requirements for those engineers who are already members of other institutions recognised by it. As a consequent, the route to membership or fellowship recognise that when you are a member of International Engineering Institutions you are exempted from many requirements that would be needed for corporate membership and consequently you need to submit minimum documents required such as your application form along with the requisite sponsors and a copy of your membership certificate for the institution that you belong to. An informal interview will then be conducted most likely by phone and corporate membership is always automatic as far as ZIE UK is concerned.

Can you confirm whether I can be a member considering that I'm not resident in the UK, I note from previous correspondence that membership to ZIE-UK was only open to engineers resident in the UK?

You can be a member of ZIE regardless of your location. The membership invitation is for ZIE corporate membership not for ZIE UK membership. However, by applying for ZIE membership when you are based in Europe you automatically become a member of the ZIE UK. We might have to rename the branch to ZIE Europe to ensure that all Zimbabwean engineers based there are covered.

I am already a member and would like to renew my corporate membership , how much do I pay, when and How.?

The main ZIE has mandated ZIE UK to collect membership subscriptions on its behalf in the UK. The subscription fees depend on your grade (e.g. Fellow, Member, and Graduate Member). The ZIE financial year runs follows the calendar year. Membership services fees and how to pay are available elsewhere on this website. Please note that members should pay their dues before the commencement of the financial year. Those who are making membership applications will need to pay the subscriptions at the point of applying since no fees have been charged for the application process.

I am a sole practitioner or there are no other qualified engineers in my office. Who can I get to act as a referee/sponsor?

We encourage engineers working in isolated circumstances to take positive steps to put in place networks that support their professional practice by providing peer review and support as part of a risk management strategy for their practice. Such networks may be supported by ZIE UK branch links or other UK Engineering Institutions and should provide a source of people who are able to act as referees/sponsors.

If you are in an area of practice that has not traditionally had a strong association with UK engineering institutions and are unable to identify appropriately qualified referees in spite of having such a ZIE network in place, please contact the chairperson or secretary of the ZIE branch to discuss your situation.

My work conditions are confidential. How do I get around this in submitting my evidence portfolio during the application process?

Generally professional reviewers do not need a high level of detail on confidential information - they need sufficient evidence to be satisfied that the applicant is able to practice competently as a professional engineer. We would expect that this could be demonstrated by documentation that describes the nature of your work and its complexities without disclosing confidential detail about solutions or business processes.

Should the situation demand, our professional reviewers should be able to sign confidentiality clauses. While first time applicants are required to provide work samples as part of their portfolio, often the above confidentiality arrangements will give an employer sufficient comfort to allow work samples to be released. Alternatively, it may be that you are not able to provide details of current work, but your employer may be comfortable with you providing work samples relating to earlier projects that have been completed and are now in the public domain.

What happens when ZIE UK receives my application?

The Professional Review Panel will access your application and follows up reference checks from your nominated referees/sponsors and invite you for a professional review interview if appropriate. The Secretary of the ZIE UK Branch will contact you to keep you informed of progress and may request further clarification.

Professional Review Panel decision is recommended to the ZIE Board for ratification. The period of time from receipt of your application to final decision typically takes six to fourteen weeks, depending on the availability of referees and the completeness of your application. If your application is successful, you will be informed of the decision by letter from the Secretary of the ZIE UK Branch If your application is unsuccessful, feedback and suggestions on career development will be given from the Professional Review Panel to assist you with a successful application in the future. You have the right to request the Professional Review Panel to reconsider its decision and if the result does not change, you can appeal to the ZIE Board.

When and where are membership meetings held?

ZIE UK Committee has come up with two branch meetings and an Annual general Meeting for each Calendar Year at a venue in Birmingham available on this website from time to time. The current preferred venue is Birmingham arising from it’s central position and easy accessibility from across the UK. It was the preferred venue choice during ZIE UK Membership Survey conducted in August/September 2008.

How is my membership subscription money used?

The bulk of your dues pay for ZIE UK Activities such as venue hire, membership applications, membership certificates and website hosting and membership awards and other ZIE UK activities. We are required to remit part of your dues to ZIE. The annual ZIE UK Budget and the audited yearly financial statements gives in detail all sums of money received and expended by the Branch and the matters in respect of which such receipts and expenditure took place. The Branch Committee members as well as the members of the professional review panel, who process membership applications are not compensated for their efforts. The Branch’s accounts are kept by the Treasurer and posted on our ZIE UK Website and are open for inspection by members of the ZIE UK Branch.

What do the following terms mean. Professional Engineer and Registered Engineer?

These are the new terms introduced by the Zimbabwe Engineering Council Act 2007 referring to a corporate member of ZIE or any other constituent body registered by the Engineering Council Zimbabwe and given a practicing certificate permitting them to offer their engineering services or work directly to the public. These terms mean that the actual practice of professional engineering is legally defined and protected by law and only registered Engineers are permitted to use the title, or to practice professional engineering. Thus what distinguishes a registered professional engineer is the authority to approve and sign engineering documents (reports, drawings, and calculations) for a study, estimate, design or analysis, thus taking legal responsibility for it.