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Continuing Professional Development

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Are you keeping up to date? Learning new things?

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is about maintaining and developing your competence and practice so that you continue to meet professional standards, stay up to date and can meet the challenges that come your way throughout your working life.

What counts as CPD?

CPD is any activity that helps you move forward and develop as a professional. It’s not just about training courses – any activity that helps you learn in some way can be CPD  - including work based learning (perhaps you are working on a new project or in a new area) reading and research, networking with others and so on. In fact, chances are, the more advanced you are in your career, the more your learning will tend to be about learning from experience.

It’s up to you to decide what you want to learn and what specific CPD would benefit you most, but you should try to make sure that your CPD includes activities in relation to some or all of the following broad CPD areas, so that what you are doing is broad and balanced:

Professionalism

This is learning focusing on matters to do with practicing as a energy professional such as conduct and ethics, health and safety, environmental considerations and understanding the changing contexts of practice e.g. new legislation, societal or economic changes. It may also be about supporting other professionals e.g. through mentoring, involvement in your branch, committees and so on.

Technical knowledge and skills

This is learning in relation to the more technical aspects of your work and the context in which you are working or intend to work

Non-technical knowledge and skills

This is about general professional skills, for example; communication, training, managing change, information technology and new packages.

CPD can include any activity which has helped you to take forward your development as a professional, so it can include a range of learning activities including:

Work based learning

This could include taking on projects in new areas, working in new contexts or roles and reflecting on your experience

Professional activity

This could include being involved in a professional body in some way, for example as part of a branch, committee, panel or network, mentoring others or being mentored

Formal / Educational

This could include writing articles or papers, further education, training or qualifications, attending courses and conferences

Self-directed learning

This is deepening your understanding through reading and research around a subject which could include reading journals, reviewing books / articles, internet research and so on

Other

This could include voluntary work or public service activities which have nevertheless helped you to develop skills which you use in your professional life

Our short video explains what CPD is and what counts towards your CPD.

What requirements do I need to meet?

Under the EI Code of Conduct, all professional members of the EI are required to maintain their knowledge and skills through CPD, and to keep a record of what they are doing to stay up to date. Some types of professional registration or approval also have specific requirements which you will have to meet to retain a title you have been awarded, so it is important you check to make sure you know what the requirements are. If you are asked to submit your CPD, the annual deadline for receipt is 31 May.

As a professional member you should be:

  • Maintaining your CPD in a range of areas  – that is, all your CPD shouldn't be all concentrated on one topic
  • Maintaining a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of your CPD activities
  • Undertaking a mixture of learning activities which:
    • Are relevant to your current or future practice
    • Benefits the quality of your practice
    • Benefits the users of your work (employees, clients, the public etc.)
  • Adopting a reflective approach to your development

If you hold the title CEng, IEng or EngTech you are required to follow the Engineering Council’s CPD Code for Registrants, and CPD is one of the competences you need to show you meet to apply for an engineering title. From January 2019, it will be mandatory for professionally registered engineers and technicians to submit their CPD record to their institution should this be requested – if you fail to do so, your registration could be suspended. For more information about the Engineering Council's requirements, and for general guidance from the Engineering Council on CPD, see  https://www.engc.org.uk/ or take a look at the video below.

All Chartered Environmentalists are expected to undertake CPD, and CPD is also one of the areas of competence that you will need to demonstrate to become an chartered environmentalist. Click here for further information about the Society for the Environments competences and Code of Conduct, including in respect of CPD.

If you are approved to act as an ESOS Lead Assessor, either as a Chartered Energy Manager or through the EI’s Register of Professional Energy Consultants (RPEC) you will need to meet specific requirements set by the Environment Agency, including:

  • Submitting a CPD record annually by the deadline of 31 May
  • Undertaking a minimum of 5 hours CPD which is relevant to the knowledge skills and understanding required to undertake energy audit and assessment under the ESOS scheme
  • Identifying and recording in your CPD record at least two ESOS specific learning objectives each year

Our short video explains what CPD requirements you will need to meet, if you hold a registration in addition to your EI membership.

How do I record my CPD?

The EI provides a range of tools to help you record your professional development and think about your learning.

mycareerpath is the EI's free to use online professional development system, which allows you to plan and log your professional experience in an easy to use electronic format. You can also use it to create reports to summarise your CPD at the end of each year or quarter.

The CPD Record Form is a simple downloadable template for recording your development.  It includes guidance on what to record, how to record it and what to think about to produce an effective record and to get the most out of your learning.

We encourage members to use these tools to record their CPD, but alternative formats - for example those used by an employer or another professional body - are normally acceptable, provided that the same information is covered, including evidence of reflection. It will need to include:

  • A brief description of your work role
  • Your professional development goals
  • Details of a range of learning activities, including what you learned and how you will (or already have) applied this

...and meets the CPD requirements relevant to the tiles you hold.

Download CPD record form Download CPD record form (ESOS)

Watch our videos below for more guidance:

Our short video explains the benefits of CPD for individuals and where you can record it.

Our short video explains how to complete your CPD record and why reflection is so important.

Feedback on your CPD

We are not always able to provide individual feedback on the CPD records submitted, though we do respond directly to as many submitters as we can. The CPD Panel also produces an annual report on the CPD records received, to help guide members. You can download the 2020 report below.

CPD guidance and resources

For more information about CPD and how to make sure you get the maximum benefit from your learning, download our guide The best you can be.

Download The best you can be Guide

The CPD logo

You will often see this logo on the EI’s events, training courses, publications and products. The CPD logo indicates that the event, course or resource can count towards a varied programme of Continuing Professional Development and has been designed to help members in their learning and development.

We are happy to provide certificates for courses or events you attend with the EI – just email events team. Our certificates indicate the event you attended, and the number of hours of content which were delivered.

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