Revamping Fellowship: A Comprehensive Review of CIOB's Standards and Application Process

In February 2023, the Education team along with a working group undertook a thorough review of the Fellowship application process and standards. This was against a backdrop of falling numbers applying and completing the process and the fact that the standards had not been reviewed since its introduction in 2017.

THE AIMS

The working group established the following aims:

• To review and update the standards to ensure they are fit for purpose and inclusive to a broad church.
• To identify the barriers in the process including entry and assessment criteria and address these to achieve an inclusive and accessible Fellowship without reducing the standard which is set at level 7 (master’s level).

THE PROCESS

At present, there is a different process for non-members which can be challenging and feedback from candidates suggests that this additional written assessment against MCIOB standards is problematic in that it requires a demonstration of operational competencies which they have moved beyond. It also deters people from the Chartered Membership Programme which is designed specifically for those in middle management positions with substantial construction experience who do not hold a level 6 qualification. 

The working group agreed that there should be one process for all applicants given it is a competence-based assessment. Subject to approvals by the Board of Trustees in April, we will be removing the Part 1 of the written application and thus removing assessors’ ability to award membership following the Viva Voce exam. 

ENTRY CRITERIA

With the current process, there are no entry criteria for Fellowship. This is because it was felt that qualifications were irrelevant in demonstrating leadership skills and Part 1 of the written application covers the MCIOB standards for non-members.

By removing the Part 1 (Membership standards), the working group now feel that entry requirements are applicable for non-members and should be set at level 6 which is the same for Chartered Membership (MCIOB).

Moving forward, therefore, non-members must have a level 6 academic, vocational or professional qualification recognised by the CIOB for entry onto the Fellowship programme. We will be quite flexible with this level 6 criterion, recognising a broad range of academic, vocational and professional qualifications.

STANDARDS

Having reviewed the standards, the Fellowship working group agreed that these are currently too operational and specific to a construction environment and need to be more strategic and less prescribed to capture the wide range of applicants including academics, consultants and specialists. Areas that currently are missing have also been addressed such as ED&I, sustainability, quality, and innovation. 

The working group are satisfied that the new standards are sufficiently strategic and high-level whilst including the key missing themes to appeal to a broad range of industry and education practitioners. 

We are hoping to launch the new Fellowship process in May 2024.