What is Continuous Professional Development?

Have you ever felt annoyed when someone tells you…:

That's how we have always done it!

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a lifelong commitment to keep learning for the benefit of themselves and the industry. Documenting CPD allows you to stay relevant, maintain current and new skills to apply to your job.

We used a Greek Temple analogy in the Initial Professional Development section and we can use this to portray CPD. Imagine it as the required maintenance of the structure for the entire lifecycle to ensure that the structure is fit for purpose.

TCEE ICE Attributes Greek Temple — TCEE's analogy for the ICE Attributes in the form of a Greek Temple – where CPD is the prolonged maintenance of the Structure for its life

CPD is actually a broad term which is used to describe two specific things:

CPD = DAP + PDR

Essentially:
DAP = Development Action Plan = “What do I need to learn?”
PDR = Personal Development Records = “What have I learned?

DAPs involves reviewing your learning needs and developing a plan to meet those needs. During your IPD stages, you can tailor those needs towards the ICE Attributes that you are trying to achieve. It is important that in your final submission you also include your learning needs for at least 3-5 years after the Review.

PDRs is documenting what you have effectively learnt (in line with your DAP) and evaluating those CPD activities.

TCEE offers excellent resources and webinars to help you supplement your CPD requirements; including a CPD Tracker. This tracker provides an automated summary and categorisation of your CPD in colourful charts per year that can be inserted into your IPD (or even Professional Review) Reports.

During your IPD it is important to ensure that you are recording your CPD frequently as you will be required to demonstrate your learning at your annual ICE appraisal with your Supervising Civil Engineer, Delegated Engineer or Membership Development Officer. Additionally, CPD will need to be demonstrated upon completion of your ICE Training Agreement, upon submission of your Professional Review Report and also beyond gaining Professional Qualification.

ICE takes CPD so seriously that they audit members and issue formal warnings to those who show inadequate development. If your CPD is not good enough at Professional Review then you could potentially fail the Professional Commitment Attribute.

Candidates should ensure that they have completed a mandated minimum of 90 hours of effective learning at IEng and 180 hours at CEng Level; with a minimum of 30 hours of personal development records/effective learning per year. PDRs must also include formal Health and Safety training.