Careers
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What if your work impacted the careers of engineers around the world?

Running the gamut of early career through to retirement, resources cover everything from training courses – both virtual and face-to-face – through to tools such as IET Career Manager and mentoring services.

As the department head, Katherine works closely with the Engineering Council, which licenses the IET as a professional engineering institution, and fellow institutions to see how they can better promote and support professional development within the industry.

“No one day is the same. The work is challenging but I get so much joy from the opportunity to do so many different things.”

She’s also there to support her team, and make sure they have everything they need to help promote and support professional development across the industry.

“I think when you get to a ‘head of’ role you don’t have a specific job yourself – the teams are the ones doing the work, and I’m just there to support them. It’s about having strategic oversight and making sure everyone is content with what they’re doing and has what they need.

“I’m ultimately responsible for their success. I think that’s what you have to take home when you run a department – the buck stops with you. It’s really important that your team knows that you’ll support them in the decisions they make but you’ll also take responsibility for the outcomes,” she says.

Variety’s the spice of life

Although there are regular catch-ups with her managers and weekly meetings with the other department heads, there’s no such thing as an average day for Katherine.

One day she might be making a presentation to employers about the importance of professional development, the next she could be attending a working party regarding the development of a new IET service or product. But the variety, and far-reaching impact of her work, is one of the things she enjoys the most.

“There’s so much I get to do! I have the opportunity to talk to different people across the IET, but also work with members and volunteers externally. You get to meet so many people from all walks of life.

“What’s been so good about my time at the IET is that each role has brought its own set of challenges and development opportunities.”

Career progression opportunities

Katherine has held several positions since she joined the IET eight years ago as an Academic Accreditation Manager. This involved travelling both across the UK and overseas working with universities on the accreditation of their engineering and technology degrees.  

Her manager quickly recognised Katherine’s ambition and potential and whenever possible gave her opportunities to stretch her skills and take on more responsibility. In time this led to an invitation to take part in the IET’s Women’s Development and Leadership Programme.

“This was such a brilliant programme,” she enthuses. “It gave me so much confidence and showed me that I didn’t have to wait until my children were older to advance my career.

“While on the programme I applied for a secondment as Head of Volunteer Support, which gave me a chance to ‘level up’. I was effectively in charge of all the policy and engagement for volunteers and I learnt so much.

“The programme taught me I could be more ambitious with the direction of my career and when the secondment came to an end, I’d realised that I’d achieved everything I wanted to in the role of Academic Accreditation Manager. It was time to move on to something new and I applied for my current role.”

Far-reaching work

Katherine’s roles highlight the far-reaching work of the IET. Over her eight years with the organisation so far, she’s had an impact on a variety of aspects of people’s engineering and technology careers, from higher education and volunteering through to professional development and registration.

As someone who’s passionate about her own professional development, she relishes the opportunity to provide other like-minded individuals with the best resources to support their own career journeys.