News

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Highway Engineers.

New chief executive Lyle Andrew is looking forward to celebrating the milestone with members throughout 2025. He said: ‘I feel both fortunate and honoured to have come into the role of chief executive in time to celebrate IHE’s 60th year.’

The IHE was established as the Association of Highway Technicians (AHT) in 1965 by its first chairman and founder H.S. (Bill) Taylor under the trusteeship of the Institution of Highway Engineers (now called the CIHT).

In 1972, the AHT became a completely independent body called the Highway and Traffic Technicians Association (HTTA) under Bill Taylor’s leadership, with the ability to add members to the national register.

The HTTA was renamed again in 1989 to become the Institute for Highway Incorporated Engineers (IHIE) and licensed by the Engineering Council to accredit university and college courses.

Twenty years later, in 2009 the Institute was renamed the Institute of Highway Engineers with a launch at Westminster Abbey, and it retains this name today.

Mr Andrew said: ‘With a proud history in the sector, IHE’s mission remains to provide professional development opportunities, support and leadership for individuals to achieve and maintain professional recognition.’

Tough as diamonds

For its anniversary, the IHE is focusing on resilience, which is one of President Katharine Kelly’s three key themes alongside retention and (professional) registration.

Under the leadership of Mr Andrew, the Institute has set a key objective of ensuring resilience across financial, governance and digital aspects of our operations.

The goal is to strengthen the foundations of the IHE to withstand potential disruption and adapt to emerging challenges and demands, all while keeping members at the core of our operations.

For the members

The IHE aims to help members enhance their personal resilience to the complex, stressful world we live in. Through an emphasis on self-development, it will support members to unlock their full potential by acquiring transferable skills, engaging in formalised training and pursuing professional registration. A review of the IHE’s training courses aims to align them more closely with the evolving needs of members and the expectations of clients and employers.

For the industry

The IHE will foster strong relationships with government, other institutes, professional bodies, industrial and academic partners and its governing body, the Engineering Council. These partnerships are pivotal in promoting the importance of our sector within the wider industry.

The Institute aims to promote diversity so that the membership reflects the wider society and encourages the best school leavers and graduates to enter the sector. It will continue to improve health and safe working conditions, enhance efficiency and promote sustainability in the face of social and environmental challenges, ultimately ensuring robustness and longevity in the ever-evolving landscape of  transportation infrastructure.

The IHE will also continue to grow its policy-focused work to ensure it is a strong advocate for engineers and the highways sector with government and policymakers. The IHE will continue to work to be a trusted voice in the debate around the