Professional Engineers

Professional engineers work in areas requiring specialist engineering knowledge – analysing, solving and managing complex engineering problems. They take responsibility for the largest engineering projects, sometimes worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Most professional engineers hold four-year Bachelor of Engineering (BE) university degrees.

Professional engineers are required to take far-reaching responsibility for engineering projects and programmes, including the reliability of materials and technologies, their integration into effective systems, and the interaction between the technical systems and their environments.

A professional engineer’s work involves understanding the requirements of clients and of society as a whole; working to optimise social, environmental and economic outcomes over the lifetime of the product or project; interacting effectively with the other disciplines, professions and people involved; and ensuring that the engineering contribution is properly integrated into the whole.

They are also responsible for interpreting technological possibilities for society, business and government, helping ensure that policy decisions recognise such possibilities, and that costs, risks, limitations and probable outcomes are properly understood.

The work of professional engineers is mainly intellectual. They are concerned with advancing technologies and applying them creatively and innovatively. They may work in researching and developing new engineering principles and technologies, advancing the practice of engineering, or devising or updating its governing codes and standards.

Professional engineers have a particular responsibility for ensuring that projects are soundly based in fundamental principles, and for understanding how new developments relate to established practice. A hallmark of a professional is the ability to break new ground in a responsible way.

Professional engineers take a disciplined, holistic approach to complex engineering. They must be able to offer alternatives, defining their risks and benefits, and using professional judgement to choose a workable optimum approach. They must be able to recognise, assess and manage risks to clients, users, the community and the environment.

Registers of current competence for professional engineers

• Chartered Professional Engineer - CPEng. This is the only statutory-backed register for professional engineers in New Zealand.
• International Professional Engineer – IntPE(NZ) (Lists people who have met the internationally benchmarked competence standard)
• Recognised Engineer –candidates wishing to become a Category A Recognised Engineer should refer to the guidelines for details of requirements for assessment.  If you are already a CPEng registered engineer, you will be required to undertake an early continued registration assessment to be assessed for a Category A Recognised Engineer.  Any current CPEng with a general background in civil engineering can self-declare (ie no assessment is required) that he/she is competent to carry out the work required as a Category B Recognised Engineer.
• Design Verifier –Candidates should refer to the guidelines for details required for assessment.  If you are already a CPEng registered engineer, you will be required to undertake an early continued registration assessment to be assessed for a Design Verifier and competent to carry out design verification for one or more of the prescribed equipment types (Pressure Equipment, Cranes and Passenger Ropeways).   Engineers performing the function of a Design Verifier must comply with the requirement that they are employed or engaged by an accredited Inspection Body.
• IPENZ Practice College. - Currently competent professional members of the IPENZ practice college.

Registers of those engineers holding professional standing within IPENZ.

• IPENZ membership - Professional members (includes Dist FIPENZ, FIPENZ & MIPENZ)