b'6 Partner News Winter 2020IET updatesCommitment to the Concordat initiative: How our Partners have continued to work together Past IET President Peter Bonfieldby developing ideas with our Partners, kickstarted the Concordat initiative duringinfluence we have the best chance to his 2019/2020 presidential year, with thesucceed in achieving this.goal of providing a cohesive solution to the need to raise professional standards andThe IETs Professional Development team ethics across the engineering sector.have previously been working on this new initiative that delivers on the fundamental Since its inception in 2019, the IETaims of the Concordat and identifies Concordat has been signed by over 65beneficial feedback for signatories. Now Corporate and Enterprise Partners whothey will be able to incorporate the crucial have re-affirmed their commitment tofeedback our Partners have provided. developing professional competence and promoting best practice in theirThe roundtable sessions provided insight organisations.into what tools and support industry is looking for when it comes to enabling The IET recently hosted two virtualengineers and technicians to reach their roundtables with representatives fromfull potential and raise the standard across Concordat signatory companies to discussthe whole sector. how they can work together further to Ben Obiri-Bonney CEng MIET, National Grid, with IET Chief honour the Concordat commitments andSince the discussions, the IET has takenExecutive and Secretary, Nigel Fine, and IET Past President benefit their technical workforces.the comments from partner organisationsDr Peter Bonfield OBE FREng BSc MSc PhD CEng FIET.on board and started working on a product Sally Davidson Jones, IET Partnershipthat can provide a solution to many of and Development Manager, said: It is sothe challenges engineering companies are important that we not only reflect thefacing in 2020 and beyond. commitment Concordat signatories have made, but also work with them to exploreIf you would like to provide feedback how we can rise to the challenge together.on how the legacy of the Concordat can Ultimately, everything we do needs tobenefit engineers and technicians please benefit engineers and technicians andcontact partnerships@theiet.org. Our Redundancy Support ProgrammeWeve launched a bespoke programmeProfessional Registration application feesthan ever at the moment, we will look designed to help those going throughand online skills training to potentially helpafter all our members and support them in redundancy or facing career discontinuity.increase their employability. whichever way they need. Our Redundancy Support Programme is built to accelerate professionalJo Deal, Senior Development Manager forThe Redundancy Support Programme competence during this challenging timethe IET, shared why the programme wasis available to both existing and new with a streamlined registration processdeveloped: Our Partnerships team createdmembers from any organisation, whether along with access to an array of trainingthe Redundancy Support Programme withthey are Partners or not. and development tools.help from other areas of the IET in order to make sure that we provide the supportIf you or someone you know would Participants on the programme will benefitour members are going to need if they fallbenefit from the programme, please from six months of IET membership, aon hard times. The IET is their professionalemail redundancysupport@theiet.org. streamlined registration process, reducedhome for life and this is more important'