Owen Davies

For most of my 45+ years as a professional engineer and project manager, half within the Royal Navy and half with Babcock International, I was cast as a ‘completer/finisher’. In retirement I am hoping to enjoy the journey rather more than the destination! I now split my working time between two areas. Firstly I volunteer as one of many chairs of IMechE’s, Professional Review Interview panels for Armed Forces and Civilian applicants. The final step of an applicant’s journey to registration as an Incorporated or Chartered Engineer with the UK Engineering Council is the PRI. Those not familiar with the Haddon-Cave report into the loss the the RAF Nimrod aircraft won’t be aware of the findings regarding the ultimately fatal loss of moral compass within the organisations responsible for the airworthiness of the Nimrod fleet. One of the many recommendations was that military engineers should seek Engineering Council Registration and as an ex-serviceman who chairs both civilian and military PRIs I count myself amongst the gatekeepers of Haddon-Cave’s legacy. Not only does it make me stay current with Engineering Standards and Practices but it exposes me to really good people and enables me to objectively compare and contrast. Secondly I work with a remarkable UK Charity, Engineers for Change Sierra Leone, to develop the capability and capacity of professional engineers in Sierra Leone in support of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers (SLIE). We currently provide UK registered Mentor support to 18 BEng Graduates in SL and have just helped SLIE to obtain Royal Academy of Engineering support to extend this to a pilot Company Based Professional Engineers’ Training Scheme and an Exchange Programme. Why do I support this? I do it because I think we need to move the commercial model of development away from a transactional relationship and towards a broader collaborative stakeholding partnership model that goes well beyond aid providing NGOs. Unless this happens, I cannot see how the developing world is going to get through the upcoming energy revolution without the most devastating hardship which will cause migration on a level unimaginable today. Partnerships are based upon the mutual confidence of the participants in each others’ competencies. Engineering competence will be fundamental to the collaborative transformation of Sierra Leone’s social and economic infrastructure in the years to come. Other competencies of course matter but our band-width isn’t infinite! If you feel you can help, contact the Charity. Https://engineersforchange-sl.org/