Did you know that by reading an article in PE you are making a demonstrable effort to garner knowledge and improve your professional skills? The same goes for watching a relevant programme on television, attending a lecture or seminar, or giving up your time to help mentor a younger colleague.

All of the above activities are categorised as continuing professional development (CPD), the formal and informal means by which registered engineers attain the sort of skills and knowledge that ensure that they remain competent throughout their working lives. CPD is a career-long commitment, undertaken as a young engineer working towards professional registration, and carried on into retirement.

“All members of the IMechE have an obligation to maintain professional development,” says Rob Smith, chair of the IMechE’s Qualifications and Membership Board. “When they apply to become members, they accept the need to remain relevant and to ensure that they have a clear career development path. It’s part of their commitment to being a professional engineer.”

Ideally, CPD is carried out on a day-to-day basis, rather than being seen as a chore to be undertaken in isolation at certain times of the year. Engineers are encouraged to get into the habit of spending a few minutes now and then recording their development learning, making the process seem less onerous.

There isn’t a ‘quantity’ of CPD that must be undertaken. It depends on where an engineer is in their career, and what they are aiming to achieve. No quantitative measures are given. The IMechE doesn’t count ‘points’ or ‘hours’ as some other professional engineering institutions do, preferring instead to use an outcome-based approach which it calls ‘reflective learning’.

This process is known and understood by most engineers, who get on with tracking and documenting their CPD as part of their commitment to keeping knowledge and skills up-to-date. And this will remain the case. But there are some changes relating to CPD in the pipeline. Not so much for individuals, who will be expected to carry on doing what they have always done, but more so for the institutions, which are being encouraged by the Engineering Council to introduce more structured efforts to track the CPD records of their members. So, from 2017, the IMechE will perform a mandatory audit of a sample of at least 5% of its members’ CPD records.

Ready for a call

The only change for members, therefore, is that from 2017 they might be chosen to have their previous year’s records audited. “As an institution, we have a responsibility to assess members’ CPD,” says Smith. “We have opted to do that on a sample basis, and so we are saying to members that they might be called upon to take part in a recording review. We are making efforts to ensure this isn’t a needlessly bureaucratic process – we don’t want to impose layers of paperwork. 

“All we ask is that you record what you do as CPD, and carry out some reflection on the activities undertaken. And we already provide effective online tools for members to do exactly that.”

For those who are working as an engineer, and who therefore could be selected for the auditing process, the IMechE has developed an online tool to make it simple to record experience and professional activity. CPD activities are personal to each individual, and logging records in Career Developer means they remain portable throughout a career. The IMechE recommends use of the online tool, as it eliminates the difficulties encountered when individuals move companies and their records get left behind.

“We are making every effort to ensure that the Career Developer tool is as useful as it can be when it comes to recording CPD,” says Smith. “Many members already use it. Early next year we will be bringing in some user enhancements. We want to make it as simple as possible for members.”

Some members might work for a company or organisation with an in-house appraisal system. If members are satisfied that their company scheme meets all their professional development needs, then all they need to do is inform the IMechE that that is the case.

“We don’t want to create extra work,” says Smith, “so if a member is satisfied their company scheme meets all their professional development needs, that is all you need to tell us – but we may ask to see evidence.”

Opting out

There are other circumstances where members can ‘opt out’, such as if they are on a career break or parental leave. Retired members will be expected to play their part if they consider themselves to be ‘active in the profession’. But it is possible to self-certify as ‘not active in the profession’ for reasons such as illness or unemployment, in which case the IMechE will not ask the member for details of CPD if they are selected for audit. “We have no wish to drive away valued members whose personal situation does not allow them to complete sufficient CPD,” says Smith.

In the future, once permission has been given, it will be possible for the IMechE’s CPD advisory team to access the relevant year’s records, so members won’t have to take any specific action to be part of the auditing process. CPD submissions will be viewed only by trained assessors, who will all be IMechE corporate members, and by the CPD administration staff. 

The payback for being part of the auditing process will be independent feedback on CPD plans or activities for those who request it. The feedback will be available in two stages: the first stage offers assessment of the quantity and variety of CPD activities versus expectations, while an optional stage two will offer more detailed comment on how an individual’s CPD satisfies their development requirements and suggestions for further activities to address any gaps.

“We are not looking to trip anyone up,” says Smith. “Rather, we will be looking to inform members on how they can get the best out of their existing CPD activities and to signpost new opportunities. 

“For example, where a member’s returns shows limited CPD has been completed, we may suggest ways of undertaking CPD that hadn’t perhaps been considered, such as reading magazine articles or volunteering activities.”

So the sampling of members’ CPD records should be viewed in a positive light, says Smith. “It will help strengthen public trust in the profession as a whole,” he adds.

The Engineering Council worked with the professional engineering institutions during 2012-15 looking at CPD.

A working group sought institutions’ views and held several events, including with employers, which broadly aimed to gather opinions on CPD and see if any further work needed to be done. The general feeling was that most registrants were ‘doing CPD’ even if they did not record it as such. But there was some feeling that engineering might have fallen a bit behind some other professions in the realm of CPD.

It was recognised that the right balance needed to be struck. For example there was no appetite for a tick-box mentality. Several of the institutions already had in place systems for monitoring CPD. Broadly. the aim was not to police members but to encourage a culture in which they engage in CPD and take ownership of their own learning and development. 

The Engineering Council believed that adopting this approach across the profession should help all registrants to plan and reflect upon their learning and development, and so benefit them, their employers, and society. Hence the aspirational target date of 1 January 2017 for all institutions to implement sample monitoring. This was to allow institutions time to explain the nature and purpose of monitoring, and to put in place the necessary systems and processes.

Before the official process comes into force, the IMechE will be looking for volunteers to be part of an extended pilot programme and also for corporate members to volunteer to undertake training as CPD assessors. If you would be willing to help in either of these roles, email CPD@imeche.org, entering either ‘Pilot Programme Volunteer’ or ‘CPD Assessor Volunteer’ in the subject line.

• If IMechE members have questions or concerns on the CPD auditing process, they should contact CPD@imeche.org