Many SOE members who have gained Engineering Council or Society for the Environment registration are keen to pass back the knowledge and skills they have learnt over the years to help new registrants, or to enable existing ones to gain the next step.

Our registration volunters can be found working hard to:

• Conduct workplace assessments for EngTech applicants without the traditional qualification
• Interviewing and assessing IEng, CEng & CEnv candidates
• Mentor IEng, CEng and CEnv candidates through mock interviews and technical reports
• Sitting on our Membership and Professional Standards committee

SOE's direction on strategy, policy and professionalism is managed by our various member led groups. Some of these are elected, and some are selected on an experience basis. Find out more about what our volunteers here do, and how you can get involved:

Trustee Board

This is the strategic board, representative of SOE as whole, which sets and approves overall direction of travel. Members are generally voted into their role by SOE members, during the annual election, although the board can co-opt specialists for a limited period of time (for example if they need expertise in a certain policy area). The Trustee Board meets four times a year, and is supported in its work by the Audit Committee, and the board of IRTE Services, which oversees our commercial activites. 

Professional Sector councils

Each Professional Sector Council (PSC) is made up entirely of elected members, who are experts in the respective specialist fields of engineer surveying, plant and road transport. They report into the Trustee Board and have a specific focus. PSCs meet four times a year and are responsible for liaising with employers to improve standards, releasing or commenting on technical guidance, and ensuring that our members voices are heard in government and by industry. 

Other committees

SOE's work is also underpinned by our other volunteer committees. This includes the Membership and Professional Standards Committee, which is responsible for admitting members and registrants, and approving our CPD policies. We also have a military committee, which works hard to ensure that SOE membership remains an attractive professional home for engineers across the defence world. The irtec and IRTE Workshop Accreditation steering groups provide technical expertise and listen to industry needs on our accreditation and training programmes, and the IRTE Services Board looks after SOE's involvement with the Commercial Vehicle Show and any profit making activities the Society runs.

SOE runs over 250 CPD events a year, engages with colleges and universities to recruit student members, and works on a local level to understand how businesses work. As well as centres across the UK, we have a dedicated regional office in Hong Kong which serves our 1,800 members there, plus healthy presences in Ireland, Singapore and South Africa.

None of the above would be possible without our regional volunteers, who work tirelessly to achieve the Society's goals.

Regional committees all have at least three members (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) and are responsible for managing their own funds to put on an array of CPD verified events which help the members in their region keep up to date. They also organise awards recognising engineering students, present to apprentice, college and university learners on the importance of joining a PEI for your career, and support SOE's Head Office team by providing advice to visitors at the many trade shows we attend.