CIHT in 2024: A successful year

4th Dec 2024

Over the last 12 months, CIHT can look back on many successes and achievements. We are very proud to have been able to deliver consistently across our strategic objectives during a time when we have continued to experience economic, social and political uncertainty.

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In 2022, in consultation with our membership, we developed our most recent overarching strategy. Here we identified three strategic priorities (promoting learning, influencing the future and promoting the value of membership) for CIHT to work on over the next few years. Below we have summarised some of the key activities in support of these that we have delivered on throughout 2024. 

Promote Learning

We said we would

Achievements / Activities in 2024

Encourage and support members to achieve recognised professional qualifications
  • 111 applicants for Professional Review (CEng, IEng or EngTech) and 46 applied for Transport Planning Professional in 2024.
  • Delivered 29 End Point Assessments for Transport Planning Technician Apprentices leading to EngTech registration.
  • Completed 496 initial assessments for Engineering qualifications and 180 for Transport Planning Professional.
  • Held Professional qualifications webinars including specific webinars for IEng, EngTech, transport modellers and academics. Recordings made available on the CIHT website.
  • Created a new professional qualifications dashboard on CIHT Learn making it easy for members to find courses to support their progress towards CEng, IEng, EngTech or CTPP.
  • Re-launched CIHT’s Professional Development Framework to provide a structured approach for employers to support their staff to develop knowledge and competence for CEng, IEng, EngTech and CTPP.
  • Planned a pilot for 2025 of a new academic assessment route for applicants for CEng and IEng who have non-accredited qualifications.
Demonstrate and promote the value of qualifications to professionals and employers 
  • Regular presentations and updates to key stakeholders and at industry events including a roundtable on transport planning education with employers, universities and the Department for Transport. 
  • Delivery of a webinar series that promotes qualifications and professionalism
  • Profiles of successful professional qualifications candidates featured in TP magazine.
  • Details of apprenticeship schemes across the UK highlighted on the CIHT website and for National Apprenticeship week. CIHT President presented CIHT prizes at the graduation of the first cohort of Transport Planning Degree apprentices.
  • Supported the launch of the new civil engineering degree apprenticeship in Wales and the review of the civil engineering apprenticeship in England.
  • Key topic raised with CIHT’s Partnership Network. 
Embed CPD as an essential requirement for our members at all stages of their career
  • Following the introduction of the expectation for some of CIHT members’ CPD to be focused on transport decarbonization, we provided a range of resources on this topic and 88% of members selected for CPD review this year included references to transport decarbonisation in their submission.
  • Created CIHT Learn and CPD related news articles to attract new users and embed CPD as an essential requirement.
  • Aligned multiple CPD Courses on CIHT Learn to professional qualification specific competencies.
  • Ran CPD webinars for members with recordings available on the website.
  • Increased the number of members recording their CPD on CIHT Learn to 13.5%.
  • Key topic raised with stakeholders.
  • Made the ‘Introduction to Highways course’ on CIHT Learn available to Apprentice members.
  • Introduced an Apprentice+ package where members can access multiple CIHT Learn courses.
  • Promoted logging activities as CPD at CIHT regional webinars and presentations. 
Provide mentoring and professional development opportunities to our members 
  • Increased the number of registered mentors for professional qualifications.
  • Mentoring is a key requirement of the relaunched CIHT Professional Development Framework to ensure framework users are well supported on their professional development journey.
  • Planned mentoring platform launch in 2025 to make the mentoring process easier for both mentors and mentees.
  • CIHT Learn courses, webinars, masterclasses and events provide a range of professional development opportunities for members.
  • Launched the successful Introduction to Highways and Transportation course on CIHT Learn.
 Develop and deliver a digital learning platform for our members 
  • Continued to regularly add new content and courses onto CIHT Learn (a range of courses on professional and personal development) – 75+ courses now available.
  • Planned programme of new topics and courses to be rolled out throughout 2025. 

  

Influence the future

We said we would

Achievements / Activities in 2024

Shape and contribute to transport policy across the UK & internationally 
  • Represented CIHT through 11 government consultations across the UK.
  • Recognition in the Government’s Accessible Transport Policy Commission and the national press.
  • Introduced a renewed focus on public affairs with the appointment of a Public Affairs Manager.
  • Increased engagement with political stakeholders – MPs, Lords, Ministers, Metro Mayors. Sucesses include; Attendance by Minister for Local Transport at BCoE conference, increasing CIHT’s external voice and name recognition, attendance at parliamentary events and receptions, attendance at Labour Party Conference, scheduled meeting with HM Treasury to discuss governmental spending review, and increased responses to relevant political band industry events.
  • Manifesto recommendations and asks of government are being acknowledged in several policy announcements i.e. Integrated National Transport Strategy, Industrial Strategy, Labour’s Five Key Priorities for Transport, and emergence of a strategy for Road Safety.
  • Engagement with Highways Sector Council and ‘Ways of Life’ promotional campaign. 
  • Developed policy briefings on the ‘Transport Digital Skills Gap, and Ensuring a Fair and Equitable Transition to Net Zero Transport’.
  • Hosted roundtables that influenced thought leadership and other outputs including white papers on road safety and mobility pricing.
  • Provided media commentary, spoke at third-party events, presented views and opinion at CIHT events and through Transportation Professional (print and digital).
  • Published reports on: ‘Creating a Public Realm for all’, ‘Resilience and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Conditions in the Highways Sector’ and ‘Progressing the UK towards Safe System Implementation’.
  • Reference to CIHT’s ‘Creating a Public Realm for all report’ was referenced by other organisations in their publications, e.g. Guide Dogs and the Joint Board of Moderators update to all accredited Higher Education Institutes.
  • Spoken / presented at a variety of third-party events including round tables, conferences and webinars.

 

Maintain and develop relationships with national, devolved and regional governments, industry and the public
  • Key stakeholder engagements with organisations including the Department for Transport, National Highways, regional transport bodies and the devolved administrations.
  • Additional stakeholder engagements across the Partnership Network.
  • Continued ongoing secretariat support to the UK Roads Leadership Group and PIARC (World Road Association).
  • Supported the hosting of two international PIARC technical committees working on asset management and disaster management.
  • Run and managed the Bus Centre of Excellence, with supporting website / events etc. A project developed with support from the Department for Transport.
  • Involved and engaged with the Welsh Roads Review including Ministerial meeting.
  • Released regular media briefings, news analysis and opinion articles. 
Encourage research and debate on a long-term vison for sustainable and integrated transport infrastructure 

Released raft of new policy projects including: 

Identify and share good practice through exchange of knowledge and information 
  • 2024 saw over 130 events delivered by CIHT More than 12,500 people will have attended CIHT events.
  • Moved to a thematic approach to our magazine Transportation Professional.
  • Ongoing engagement with all parts of UK public and private sector through CIHT Partnerships Network activities.
  • CIHT Awards highlighted the best entries from over 200 submitted entries.
  • New community of interest established on decarbonisation created following on from the work of the 2023 report on Reducing emissions by 63% in a decade. 
Provide thought leadership on key highways and transportation issues 
  • Development and hosting of the Bus Centre of Excellence in England with Department for Transport with 2 successful conferences held in 2024.
  • Highlighted key issues of climate action, policy developments across UK, and member’s work via regular media briefings and news commentary.
  • Regular speaker at third-party events.
  • Release of regular views and thought leadership through blogs and other content releases.
  • CIHT Technical Champions have contributed to policy outputs and been profiled as knowledge experts in magazine articles, spoke at events representing CIHT. 

   

Promote the value of Membership

We said we would 

Achievements / Activities in 2024 

Help shape a long-term vision for the profession that will equip it to attract, retain and develop diverse talent 
  • Implemented our membership retention and recruitment strategy. Ninety-one per cent of existing members have retained their membership, with over 1,100 new members joining CIHT in 2024.  
  • Held our Emerging Professional and Apprentice summit at Aston University, Birmingham with over 150 attendees. 
  • Working with organisations including Powering Futures, STEMFEST, Tomorrow’s Engineers, Engineering UK and STEM Ambassadors to promote the positive image of the profession. Over 10,000 hours of STEM ambassador activity has been undertaken.  
  • Established benchmarks from which to track employment trends and workforce changes within the sector through the biennial survey and report. 
  • 2024 Membership survey conducted. Headlines included:  
    • 85% of members either satisfied or very satisfied 
    • 83% of respondents strongly agree or agree that CIHT is successful in fulfilling its vision of being “the leading professional highways and transportation body, promoting safe, accessible, inclusive, economically and environmentally sustainable transport infrastructure”.
    • Given the current economic situation, we are pleased to report that 77% of respondents still rate CIHT as very good or good value for money either to themselves or their employer
    • 68% of respondents rated the sense of community at CIHT as excellent or good (up from 58% in 2022) 
Provide equitable services and support to members wherever they are located 
  • Implementation of updated Regional Working Arrangements (RWA) that are promoting consistent levels of support across the UK irrespective of member location.
  • Revised AGM guidance provided to regions to ensure consistent experience for member.
  • We have increased support for International Groups including the appointment of an International Coordinator emphasising the renewed focus on our international strategy.
  • Member of Understanding signed with Engineers New Zealand and Hong Kong Engineers.
  • Launch of country champions for our international members to represent and promote CIHT.
  • Continue to work with the regions to provide a consistent service to all members.
Build on our provision of international, national, and regional high quality, accessible events, seminars and networking opportunities 
  • Have delivered our mixed programme of events (over 130) embracing face to face, hybrid and online webinars. This included over 160 hours of CPD organised by the nations and regions.
  • Move to more face-to-face events for members regionally, including more social and networking opportunities.  
Launch a comprehensive membership strategy to achieve sustainable growth across all grades, diversify our membership profile and meet the future needs of the sector 
  • The strategy has been implemented via a supporting action plan throughout the year. This has included various campaigns in recruitment and retention.
  • External activity has seen CIHT provide membership surgeries / outreach activities at a variety of companies, trade events and open days.  
Have a membership and governance structure and composition that is more representative of the society we serve and suitable for a modern professional body 
  • Inclusion of more members from a wider range of backgrounds in formal governance structures and working committees.
  • Promotion of opportunities to get involved at all levels.
  • Guidance for improving diverse and inclusive governance published.
  • New volunteer induction module launched with all volunteers asked to sign the volunteer agreement as part of the Volunteer Strategy. 

  

The tables above are some of the examples of activity we have been delivering on your behalf. We are fortunate to be a professional body that represents people and organisations working in highways, transportation and infrastructure, who through their work, make a real difference to society and the economy. We are proud to be part of this and we look forward to supporting you through the work of the Institution. 

For 2025, we will be expanding many of the activities above and looking to deliver even more for you as members. We will publish the results of our Training Research project that will report in the spring, we will have many more courses coming on CIHT Learn, we have policy activity looking at health and transport, decarbonisation and last-minute delivery and the culmination of our CLIMATES project led by Professor Glenn Lyons). From an influencing angle, we will feed into the upcoming industrial and integrated transport strategy. For events, we will run our Masterclass series throughout the year, our Emerging Professional Conference in April and the return of our National Conference in June.  

We will be working more on our key themes of climate action, equality, diversity and inclusion (for example, through a new EDI digital hub; and professionalism (a new mentoring platform, academic route pilot, and updates to our good practice and professional development framework). 

If you want to find out more or discuss anything in more detail, please contact e: communcations@ciht.org.uk

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Get ahead with CIHT Membership

Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT.  We are  committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career

Find out more