Professional Development

Background and Requirements Professional Development is a continuous process of learning and improvement. Early in an engineer's career the development is focused on the need to acquire competence and commitment, in particular to qualify as a professional, by acquiring the skills and competences necessary to satisfy the professional review. This phase is sometimes known as Initial Professional Development or IPD. It is also a period when the good habits of a conscientious professional - of maintaining and developing competence - are embedded. UK-SPEC  emphasises two recent trends in Professional Development:

• work-based initial professional development can increasingly be integrated with meeting aspects of the educational requirements for registration

• the emphasis is on achievement of outputs defined by competence and commitment statements After this the focus changes to enhancing competence and acquiring relevant other competences in response to job demands and personal aspirations, using learning to open up opportunities for career advancement and business success. All registered professional engineers and engineering technicians are expected to:
• be committed to continuous learning and improvement
• own their development
• manage their development in a systematic manner; in particular through the processes of review, plan, action and evaluation
• provide evidence of their development, when required
• focus development on achieving outputs, defined through professional or other competence standards.

Professional Development, as evidence of commitment, is a clear obligation through Licensed Members' Codes of Conduct. Role of the ECUK in Professional Development The ECUK establishes Professional Development policies and encourages good practice so that they underpin the professional competence of registered engineers throughout working life. This is achieved by:

• publication of a framework of requirements for professional development, together with criteria and guidance on implementation Professional Development (PD) Code Achievement and Monitoring of PD

• facilitating and supporting action, especially by professional Institutions, towards the establishment of good practice

• representing the Engineering Profession in the UK and Overseas on professional development matters.

Professional Institutions

The professional engineering institutions actively promote Professional Development and provide guidance and support to members. Advice is given on recommended styles of Professional Development in records and plans and details of specific requirements. A wide range of learning opportunities is available through the learned society activities which include: meetings, courses, conferences, research, websites, publications and library facilities. Details of their specific policies can be found on the download section of this page. For details on how to contact us, please click here

 

27 Jul 2008

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