The Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) is to go ahead with its application to become a licensed member of the Engineering Council following a successful members’ vote.

Licensed member status would pave the way for CABE members to be formally eligible for chartered engineer status on equal terms with other engineering professional bodies.

Following four years of development and consultation, 91% of CABE members who voted were in favour of the association changing its by-laws to become a full member of the Engineering Council and offer the Chartered Engineer (CEng) qualification without disadvantaging existing suitably qualified chartered building engineers.

Dr Gavin Dunn, CEO of CABE, said: “This clear mandate for change puts CABE within touching distance of the industry top table and gives recognition of building engineering as a defined engineering discipline in its own right, both in the UK and internationally.”

This will enable the association to maintain the existing title chartered building engineer and enable members to pursue the additional CEng qualification if they wish. They will also have a clear and defined route to gain international recognition.

The membership vote is very timely in light of current events within the built environment and the need for more effective application of regulations and standards, providing members clear and robust ways to demonstrate their competence.

“CABE is the only engineering body to cover the whole ‘golden thread’ of standards across the regulatory, design, compliance, construction and operational management functions, making us uniquely placed to play a critical role in raising standards to ensure buildings are safer and perform as expected in practice,” Dr Dunn added.