The Australia-Indonesia professional relationship is showing promise following the signing of a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) that will see engineers’ credentials recognised by each professional body.
The agreement, signed by representatives from Engineers Australia and the Institution of Engineers Indonesia (PII), is designed to highlight the opportunity for mobility of engineers between the two countries.
Under the arrangement, Chartered members of Engineers Australia will now be eligible for the title of Professional Engineer from the PII, while PII members with relevant engineering qualifications and the titles of Professional Engineer or Executive Professional Engineer will be eligible for Chartered status via Engineers Australia.
Engineers practicing in the following engineering disciplines are covered under the MRA:
- Aerospace
- Chemical
- Civil
- Electrical
- Environmental
- Geotechnical
- Mechanical
- Petroleum engineering and information
- Telecommunications and electronics
The MRA offers an opportunity to share the skills and experiences of engineers for mutual benefit, Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust said.
“Engineers Australia has been working on this agreement with our Indonesian counterparts for many months and we are very pleased with the result,” she said. “It represents a great step forward in collaboration between Engineers Australia and PII and it reinforces the spirit of cooperation between nations.
Engineers Australia establishes MRAs with engineering bodies around the world, based on International Engineering Alliance standards, to highlight mobility opportunities.
“Strengthening our relationships with our international partners upholds professional standards and supports the profession to make change on a global level,” Madew added.
Professional links
The MRA comes three years after the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), a long-awaited agreement intended to strengthen economic bonds and foster trade and professional links.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who met in Sydney for the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Meeting, welcomed the signing.
“This signing serves as a stepping stone for the development of similar agreements for other professions in the future,” the leaders said in a joint communique.
The leaders also welcomed an expansion to the Skills Development Exchange under IA-CEPA, which allocates 1500 exchange placements to workers in sectors such as agri-businesses, the green economy, mining engineering and telecommunications.
A very pleasing landmark in our international relations. Back in the mid 1990s we began the Engineer Enhancement Program (EEP) with Australian Government and industry funding. The program, a joint venture between Engineers Australia and PII helped PII develop competency assessment processes, and an engineer registration system which was adopted by the Indonesian government for pay levels of their public service professional engineers. The late Bruce Sinclair AM worked with me on the program which built a strong relationship between Australian and Indonesia engineers.
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