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Court upholds KeNHA rule on engineering technologists
The ruling comes amid a growing dispute over professional boundaries in the engineering sector, where engineering technologists have increasingly challenged hiring criteria they say exclude qualified graduates from public service jobs.
A court has upheld Kenya National Highways Authority's (KeNHA) requirement that applicants for road engineer jobs be registered with the Engineers Board of Kenya, dealing a setback to engineering technologists seeking access to the positions.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court dismissed a petition filed by the Institution of Engineering Technology of Kenya (IET-K), ending a legal challenge that had frozen the recruitment of 27 Engineer (Roads) positions advertised by KeNHA in December last year.
The ruling comes amid a growing dispute over professional boundaries in the engineering sector, where engineering technologists have increasingly challenged hiring criteria they say exclude qualified graduates from public service jobs.
The court found that engineers and engineering technologists are distinct professions established under separate laws, training frameworks and regulatory systems.
"The two professions are distinct and intended to be so," the judge said.
"While engineers are defined as creators, designers and developers, engineering technologists are defined as implementors of technology education," he added.
The contested vacancies were advertised on December 2, 2025, and later re-advertised on December 9. The positions required applicants to hold engineering degrees and be registered by the Engineers Board of Kenya as graduate engineers.
IET-K argued that the requirement unlawfully locked out its members, who are registered by the Kenya Engineering Technologists Registration Board, despite being qualified to perform many of the duties listed in the job description.
The organisation asked the court to quash the recruitment exercise and compel KeNHA to issue a fresh advertisement for the positions.
KeNHA rejected the claims and said it was implementing career progression guidelines approved by the Public Service Commission.
The authority told the court that engineers and engineering technologists follow different academic pathways, perform different functions, and occupy separate career streams within the organisation.
KeNHA explained that road engineers are tasked with functions such as design, feasibility studies, quality assurance, and professional decision-making.
On the other hand, engineering technologists perform more applied, technical, and support roles. It attributed this distinction to fundamental differences in academic training and professional competence.
According to court filings, Engineer (Roads) positions form part of the engineering cadre, while engineering technologists have their own progression structure and entry-level positions.
The Engineers Board of Kenya supported KeNHA's position and argued that only persons registered under the Engineers Act can practise as engineers or offer professional engineering services.
In dismissing the petition, the court said IET-K had failed to prove that engineering technologists and engineers were similarly situated for purposes of recruitment.
The court found that the petitioner had provided no evidence showing that engineering technology qualifications were equivalent to civil engineering or civil and structural engineering degrees required for the positions.
"The respondent's advertisement was lawful, just, reasonable and consistent with its human resource instruments and the law," the court said.
The ruling lifted orders that had stalled the recruitment process since December.
The engineering technologists have other similar petitions challenging requirements tying engineering jobs to registration by the Engineers Board of Kenya.
