What it means to be a CIOB Fellow

Achieving the Fellowship was very significant to me. It was a watershed moment in my career and, after years of hard work, it felt like I had reached the pinnacle of my profession. Earning the title “FCIOB” made me reflect on my career, particularly the steps it took me to achieve this prestigious qualification and the individuals who inspired, influenced and mentored me along the journey. I contacted a number of those mentors and thanked them individually for their contribution.

Ultimately, FCIOB is proof of my professional credentials - it provides assurance to my colleagues and our clients of the experience, qualifications, competence, professionalism and leadership that I bring to my work.

I am very proud to have achieved the FCIOB professional recognition. I felt it was only possible thanks to a combination of my building engineering degree, years of experience, and my contributions to the industry on a range of boards and committees, as well as publications and presentations over the years. Having worked in the USA as well as the UK, it is important to me that it is internationally recognised.

The experience of becoming a Fellow

Having achieved membership status (MCIOB), and as my career in construction developed, it was always an ambition to progress further up the ladder and achieve FCIOB. However, that always seemed to be at some point in the future. It wasn’t until I was encouraged by a colleague to consider the FCIOB process that I actually took stock of my career and realised that I had the right blend of skills and experience to actually qualify. Following a review of the application process, I soon realised that it was indeed possible.

Initially, I adopted the FCIOB behavioural standards of “Leading People”, “Organisations” and “Sector” to focus on an initiative and to create a list of notes that would articulate how my experience mirrored those requirements. After a series of brainstorming exercises, I fine-tuned my script. I also worked with Training LMS to explore the process of completing the application in more detail.

In a nostalgic way, the process made me think back to working on sites as a teenager – a pivotal moment when I realised that this was the industry I wanted to work in. With this clarity, I specifically selected key courses in high school that would strengthen my understanding, and actively pursued summer work experience, with the aim of studying for a degree in Building Engineering and Management – a pathway that would help me to achieve MCIOB. It also made me reflect on the steps of my career and the mentors who supported and guided me along the way.

The process also allowed me to reflect on how I lead people, organisations and the sector during my career and how I could have been more effective.  Of course, that made me also consider how I can change and improve my leadership in the future.

The viva voce was daunting at first, not because of the questions or the panel themselves, who were professional and put me at ease, but rather because I realised how passionately achieving FCIOB had become to me. Some of the questions raised during the viva voce actually gave me new perspectives and inspired me to generate new ideas for a project I was working on.

Waiting on the decision of the panel also surprised me. I can’t recall the last time I was so anxiously awaiting such a decision. Again, this was because it meant so much to me. Personally, I believe it is the stand out achievement of my career.

I would add that the journey doesn’t end here for me as I readily accept the responsibility to live up to the standards and expectations of FCIOB by actively supporting CIOB and mentoring others on their career pathway.

For further information, have a look at our Fellowship section: https://www.ciob.org/fellowship-fciob