IHEEM CPD Approved Courses & Seminars

Initial Professional Development | Continuous Professional Development

Professional Development

It is often helpful to think of IPD as a separate stage in professional formation, building on the academic study of the educational base, as shown here:

Chartered Engineer:


Incorporated Engineer:

What is IPD?
IPD stands for Initial Professional Development. The Engineering Council UK in its Standards and Routes to Registration (SARTOR 3RD Edition) describes IPD, as:

“a continuum of education, training and development which builds
upon the educational base in order to achieve the professional
competence required for registration as a Chartered Engineer in a
particular field of work.”

IPD includes aspects of:

• science and technology
• business management and leadership
• personal development

and usually

• additional job-related non-engineering skills, such as foreign languages and training and developing others

It adds to the learning achieved within the academic programme, addressing applications and meeting specific employment and business needs.

What is the purpose of IPD?
The aims of IPD can be summarised as development of:

• Knowledge and understanding, by applying engineering principles and theory to solve real problems in a working environment
• Professional competence to perform the roles and responsibilities of a Professional Engineer in the field of engineering
• Professional commitment, both as a professional engineer and a full corporate member of IHEEM

IHEEM is currently working on a IPD Graduate scheme which it hopes will be approved by the Engineering Council UK in 2004. Further information is available from the head office should you wish to read more about IPD schemes offered by IHEEM.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Maximise your potential for life time employment

1. If you are going to maximise your potential for lifetime employability, it is essential that you maintain high levels of professional competence by continually upgrading your skills and knowledge
2. CPD is supported with the aim of creating an environment that enables you to remain professionally competent throughout your working life. This is being done by providing information and guidance to assist you to develop your expertise in recognising and planning your learning needs, recording the activities which you undertake to satisfy those needs and thus maximise your employability
3. The following sections deal with the most common questions raised by members and seek to provide “standard” answers. However, since Continuing Professional Development is very much a personal matter it is impossible to cover the circumstances of each individual

Registration with the ECUK and membership of a professional engineering Institution places obligations on members to maintain and develop professional competence.

Please click on the link below to download your own CPD summary sheet in order to log your CPD activities effectively and to demonstrate your commitment to your own Professional Development.

CPD Summary Sheet - what is this?

Why should I undertake CPD?

4. The job market is changing all the time. You may no longer be able to rely on your employer to identify and satisfy individual development needs. Additionally, you may well move jobs four or five times during your working life. Therefore you need to take ownership of your career and its continuing development
5. These changes have increased the demands on people in all walks of life to keep documented evidence of their continued competence; and nowhere is this greater than in Engineering where technology is advancing so swiftly. In your own best interests you should be developing a personal portfolio of your professional activities and their relevance to your job competence and your career ambitions
6. By undertaking CPD you will be
• demonstrating your continuing commitment to your profession
• developing the good practice of regularly reviewing needs and selecting
relevant learning activities

“If you think education is expensive, just try ignorance”

How much should I do?

7. There is no simple answer to this. It varies from one person to another. The demands of your job and the extent of your personal ambition will determine how much you should do
8. Always remember that quality is much more important than quantity. The most important aspect of CPD is the amount of knowledge and skill that you acquire, i.e. the learning outcome, rather than the number of hours study, which you undertake, i.e. the input
9. If you are to maintain sufficiently high standards of professional competence to keep yourself employable you will need to undertake a significant amount of CPD. However, when you consider all the activities, particularly at work and in the form of private study, that add to your knowledge, skills and experience, you will realise that quite substantial amounts are achievable

“Remember, failure to find the time now can result in lots of spare time later.”

What sort of things count?

10. Again, this will depend upon your job and your personal ambitions, but in simple terms the answer is “ anything that adds to your personal store of relevant skills, knowledge and experience”
11. Members are employed in a very varied range of jobs and at all levels of responsibility and it is recognised that this will be reflected, in their continuing learning needs which will be equally varied
12. Therefore, there are no limitations to the range of subjects that can be included, although it is recommended that, in order to develop your expertise on a broad front, you may need to undertake CPD in the following areas
• Developing your technical knowledge and skills in your current field
• Broadening your technical knowledge and skills into fields parallel to
your own, thus enabling you to move into another job should the
need or opportunity arise
• Acquisition of non-technical knowledge and skills, e.g. Management
techniques, Communication and Presentational Skills, Law ( Health &
Safety, Environmental, Employment), Finance, Languages, thus
preparing you to assume wider or greater responsibilities when the
opportunities arise

How do I go about it?

13. Professional development may be achieved in any of the following ways, depending on your circumstances, learning style and the opportunities open to you
• At home – private study, such as distance learning; special projects or
structured study, which may involve reading, watching television,
video tapes, and surfing the WWW and/or listening to radio
programmes and audio tapes; writing papers for presentation or
publication
• At work- where simple day to day activities, relevant knowledge
and skills are acquired by on the job learning and/or company
provision

•

At events- such as presentations, lectures, seminars, conferences and
also formal courses of study, whether or not they lead to an
examination

To find out which courses and seminars IHEEM approves for CPD click here.

“Remember, the activities that count are those that are relevant to your learning needs.”

Why should I keep records?

14. It is strongly recommended that you maintain a personal portfolio. This will assist you in a number of key aspects related to your career
• You will be able to provide documented evidence of your
commitment to your chosen profession; and of your continued
competence
• It will act as an excellent reference, both in the updating of your
Curriculum Vitae and in recalling details of topics you have studied
• It will be a most useful aid in your career development, providing a
means by which you can plan, record and review your relevant
activities

How should I keep my records?

• There are a number of ways in which this may be done but the most usual is, quite simply, an A4 ring binder containing
• Your Development Plan – based on your identified needs
• Certificates showing the competence or qualifications you have
gained
• Examples of work which demonstrates your competencies
• Description of projects/courses etc you have undertaken and your
resultant development
• Other relevant CPD documentation