22 Apr 21
Does being an energy expert mean you have to be associated with a ‘Governing Body’?
In my opinion, the answer to this is frankly, ‘Yes’, you do need to be part of one because without this association, how are you going to be kept informed of current legislation and changes within our industry?
There is currently a problem that not all energy managers or energy consultants are aligned to governing bodies. During my time with both Trend (now Honeywell) and Satchwell (now Schneider) I was aligned with the governing bodies but when I set-up my own independent company, I felt I would go alone. I did not follow the Carbon Trust route, which I actually wish I had done, although I am not 100% a follower or supporter of that process.
Therefore joining a governing body later in my career, very quickly meant I found myself connected to four, because each one provides you with different aspects of our industry.
- Chartered Institute of Building Services – CIBSE
- The Energy Institute
- Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology
- The Energy Managers Association
Apart from an excellent training and knowledge base, being associated with these organisations has provided me accreditation and enabled me to maintain these memberships. I have to deliver 20 Hours of Continued Professional Development (CPD) every year which is made up of structured training and unstructured training and although sometimes this can be a bind it does actually ensure I continue to read and train in energy.
Through my exposure to these groups I was able to recently gain entrance to training on the EnCo Course which permits me 8 Hours of annual CPD. Through this training it has also provided me with the position of EnCo Practitioner. I am a a big follower of this process in energy management and believe in this totally. It was announced recently that the EnCo approach can achieve 50% of the actual savings delivered by energy management. These are significant savings to make considering all you’re doing is providing empowerment to people.
If we do not support the governing bodies, there will be a significant reduction in skilled experts as even currently the numbers are low and that is globally.
Not only would the skill levels be reduced, the experts will also start to decrease.
The energy industry does attract individuals in to the industry from other sectors, which is supported, as long as they embrace the structure of training and CPD. What we see far too often are individuals coming into the industry, reading up on subjects on the internet and making themselves “experts”. This is ok to a fashion, but it dilutes the true experts and sometimes gives the true experts a bad name. On the other scale there are many energy consultants that have significant expertise in all areas.
New engineers and graduates to the industry need to embrace and align themselves into a governing body to make sure they transition and mature into an energy expert aligned with legislation. It doesn’t really matter which governing body you choose, as each body has their own benefits, it’s just important that you select the correct one for you.
I’m not aligned to any of them but what I find is that they are either steeped in traditional ways or they bring modern concepts and ways where some actually focus on a large generation. By finding ways to be aligned to all, it really does work for me. I would suggest that its great working with a governing body but also select a mentor to support you.
The full benefit for all of this is:
- Monthly magazines (full with articles and insights)
- Access to zero cost
- Access to low cost training in line with legalisation
- Webinars
- Certification
Your action after reading this is to review all of the governing bodies and select one that really does meet your needs and maybe reach out to join them. This will make a big difference to your career and your long term position within the industry. In my opinion, as I said before, all energy experts need to be aligned to a governing body in order to grow and develop their knowledge , understanding and skills.
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