The Welding Institute and the Finniston Report

To celebrate the centenary of The Welding Institute we have been looking back at the history of The Institute and TWI.

During the 1970s there was concern among members of the engineering community, including at The Welding Instotute, about the Finniston Report.

The Finniston Report (also known as ‘The Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Engineering Profession’ or by its title, ‘Engineering Our Future’) nearly changed how the engineering profession operated in the UK with regards to professional institutions.

The report was asked to consider whether the statutory regulation and licensing of engineers – as was the case in other nations – would be beneficial to the engineering industry in the UK, with Monty Finniston tasked with collecting opinion from 100 of Britain’s engineering firms.

The Welding Institute was heavily involved with the report, being closely tied to the CEI whilst also being asked to submit evidence and opinions to the report as well.

This led to incredibly detailed work for the Finniston enquiry in order to come to conclusions of the status of institutions, leading to how engineers are considered today – with regulatory roles and individual institutes, such as The Welding Institute, overseeing membership grades.

To find out more about the opinions of The Welding Institute towards the Finniston Report at the time, as well as the recommendations that were detailed, how the Institute reacted, and more, read our article on The Welding Institute and the Finniston Report, in full, here.