6. Membership

6.1 Classes of Members

There are seven classes of members. The membership structure of the Association is designed to allow an aspiring engineer to join the association as a Student Member at an early stage while studying at an institution of higher education. Upon earning a recognised engineering degree, the graduate may transfer to the grade of Associate Member. After a further period of at least four years of structured training, he or she may apply for transfer to the grade of (Corporate) Member. The engineer is entitled to apply for transfer to Senior Member grade and finally to the grade of Fellow, which is the highest grade of membership. The two other classes of membership are Affiliate and Honorary Member.

Application for admission to the Association must be made on the prescribed form which is available from the secretariat. The application is considered by the Membership Committee, which makes a recommendation to the Executive Council.

Candidates who are accepted shall be so informed, and upon payment of the entrance fee and the annual subscription will be issued a membership certificate. Candidates whose applications are rejected shall be so informed. Where appropriate, such candidates will be advised as to what additionally they need to do to qualify for membership.

Student Member To be eligible for admission to this grade, the candidate must be actively pursuing a course of study leading to an academic qualification which is acceptable to the Association.

Associate Member To be eligible for admission to this grade, the candidate must possess an engineering degree from a school or university which is recognised by the Association, or must have passed the Association's examination.

(Corporate) Member In addition to the requirements of Associate Member, the candidate must have not less than four years of relevant engineering experience acceptable to the Association and must be actually engaged in the practice of the profession.

Certain candidates may be admitted to the grade of Member by the mature candidate route. This is open to candidates who are over the age of forty (40) years who do not possess the normal qualifications required for corporate membership but who have attained the level of competence comparable to that of a Corporate Member and have had experience in posts of increasing professional responsibility over a period of at least fifteen (15) years.

A Member shall be eligible to vote on all matters of the Association

Senior Member Members of more than five years standing with at least fifteen years experience in engineering who have made significant contribution to engineering may apply for transfer to the grade of Senior Member.

A Senior Member is eligible to vote on all matters of the Association.

Fellow To qualify for transfer to the grade of Fellow, a Member must be over forty years of age, must have been a Member for at least ten years, and must have made significant contribution to engineering. The process may be initiated by invitation from the Executive Council or by direct application. The number of Fellows on the register of the Association is limited to ten percent of the total active membership.

A Fellow is eligible to vote on all matters of the Association.

Affiliate The grade of Affiliate pertains to persons who, by scientific acquirements and/or practical experience, have attained positions in their special pursuit qualifying them to collaborate with professional engineers in the advancement of professional knowledge and practice. In order to qualify, the candidate must be actually engaged in collaborating with professional engineers. In addition, he must possess a degree from a recognised university and must have been in the active practice of his pursuit for not less than four years after acquiring the above qualification. Alternatively, he must have been in the active practice for not less than twelve years.

Honorary Member Honorary Members are elected only at General Meetings of the Association on the recommendation of the Executive Council. Such persons must have attained acknowledged eminence in any sphere related to the engineering profession and must not otherwise qualify for membership.

Honorary Members are entitled to the privileges of the Association without the payment of entrance fees and annual subscriptions.

Life Members Engineers over the age of sixty who have retired from active practice and who have been members for twenty years or more may apply for Life Membership. Such persons retain all privileges of membership, but will be exempted from the payment of annual subscriptions.

Application for membership must be made on the prescribed application form which is available upon request from the Association's office. Applicants are required to read the instructions carefully and to fill out the entire form. Two proposers are required for all applications.

Both proposers should be registered engineers and at least one should be a corporate member the Association. In addition, authentication of the academic qualifications and work experience either by a proposer or other appropriate person is required. The completed form should be signed by the applicant and returned to the Association's office.

Upon receipt, the application is recorded and is forwarded to the Membership Committee. The committee examines the academic qualifications and the work experience of the applicant. If the applicant meets the normal requirements on both these counts, i.e., an engineering degree from a recognised institution and at least four years of relevant experience with increasing levels of engineering responsibility over the years, the committee makes a positive recommendation to Council.

Where the applicant possesses an engineering degree which is not recognized, further investigation is carried out regarding the accreditation status of the degree programme.

If the applicant does not have the normal academic qualification and is relying on clause 11 2 c (iv) of the constitution, an assessment committee is appointed to evaluate the applicant. The assessment may take the form of a written or oral examination or a review of selected work submitted by the applicant for the purpose.

Council at its regular monthly meeting receives recommendations from the Membership Committee and officially approves or rejects the applications. Applicants are then advised whether their applications have been approved or rejected. Each successful applicant is required to submit entrance fee and annual subscription, upon receipt of which a certificate of membership is issued by the Association.

For applications which meet the normal requirements for membership, the entire process normally takes about three months. Where additional investigation is required the process may take longer. In such cases, the ability of the applicant to furnish additional information as requested by the Association in a timely way will reduce the delay.

Any Member in any grade whose annual subscription remains unpaid by the 30th June shall not be entitled to exercise or benefit from any of the rights or privileges of membership.

Any Member who is in arrears for two years shall be struck from the register of members of the Association. Such persons may be readmitted upon payment of two years annual subscription applicable to the grade of membership but shall lose continuity of membership unless all arrears are paid.

Any member proceeding outside of Trinidad and Tobago for a period of not less than one year may upon written notification to the Secretary in advance, be eligible to pay a reduced annual subscription.