Please introduce yourself, describe your role or position within your current workplace and an overview of your responsibilities.
I am Dr Clare Barker and I am a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IFE. I have over 20 years’ experience in fire engineering after starting my career in 2003. In my current role as a Director of Fire Engineering at Hoare Lea, I am responsible for a team of over 30 engineers based across four offices in the UK. I am also the Technical Excellence lead within the fire engineering discipline, which involves managing our extensive in-house training for the team and collaborating on technical knowledge dissemination to other engineering disciplines within the firm. My day-to-day role also includes managing projects and also having technical oversight of other engineer’s projects. This involves reviewing fee proposals, writing and reviewing fire strategy reports, managing the team resources, financing and invoicing.
Please explain your volunteer role and what inspired you to become an IFE volunteer?
Shortly after obtaining registration as a Chartered Engineer in 2009 I heard about a training session for volunteer roles within the IFE to carry out reviewing. I attended the training and began reviewing professional review reports. Soon after that I sat in on a few professional review interviews as an observer and then began interviewing applicants. In 2016 I joined the IFE Registrant’s Group (IFERG) committee and the Individual Route Panel (IRP). During the committee meetings we discuss applications and ratify the decisions made by the reviewers and interviewers.
Since joining IFERG and IRP my reviewing role has expanded and includes carrying out academic assessments of qualifications where the applicant does not possess an accredited degree, reviews of technical report synopses and technical report reviews.
What do you find most enjoyable about being an IFE volunteer?
It is rewarding to share a common goal with my peers on the IFERG committee and the volunteer reviewers in maintaining standards and to see the progress of candidates through the application process to the goal of registration. I have successfully mentored a number of applicants to achieve registration and my experience allows me to provide advice to members of my own team when they begin their own applications. Reviewing technical reports also enables me to appreciate the research activities in the fire engineering field and keep my technical knowledge up to date.
How does being part of the IFE volunteering community benefit you (i.e. career, personally)?
Being part of the IFE volunteering community helps me to maintain my continuing professional development, as I also review technical reports. It has benefited by career as my volunteering was recognised in 2018 when I was honoured to be made a Fellow of the IFE. Volunteering as part of the IFERG committee has allowed me to meet a wide variety of people in the fire engineering community which has been great for networking. The committee meetings usually contain a great deal of healthy discussion around fire engineering, competency and ethics, which allows us to share our knowledge and experiences. My career has benefited further from the IFERG committee as I was one of the first five engineers in the country to achieve CEng (HRB) status.
What skills, insights or knowledge have you gained through volunteering?
I have gained a great deal of knowledge and awareness of the role of the Engineering Council and IFE and the measures being taken to uphold standards within the fire engineering profession. I think volunteering has improved my communication skills as when I am carrying out initial reviews and academic assessments I have to provide comments to back up my decisions, both on the review form and at the committee meetings. Interviewing applicants has also honed my verbal communication skills in asking open ended questions to allow the candidate to talk freely and elaborate about their career episodes, which makes it easier to note keywords for the IPD objectives.
How do volunteers like you help shape the future of fire safety?
Competency is at the forefront of the fire safety industry and professional registration is a way of demonstrating this. Being a volunteer and being a part of the peer review process helps to ensure that professional standards are being upheld. We all receive initial training to carry out reviews trained and then receive regular refresher training to ensure that we are consistent in our approach. The number of applications for professional registration is increasing year on year, and the IFE relies on volunteers to assist with reviews and interviews so that the application process is as streamlined as possible. Being part of the IFERG committee and Individual Route Panel helps shape the future as there are opportunities to become involved in the process for accrediting university degrees and other qualifications.