My CPD guide

Here you will find a guide to all things Continuous Professional Development (CPD). 

CPD is an important part of all engineers' careers - make sure you are the getting the most out of it, and don't forget to record all your hard-earned work.

You can adhere to the CPD Policy in one of three ways

1.    Completing and recording a minimum of 35 hours’ CPD activities

2.    A special dispensation is available for members who work for a CPD Accredited Employer

3.    Exemptions available for members who under certain circumstances are unable to undertake 35 hours CPD

How do I make my CPD Declaration for these three scenarios?

When you have completed your 35 hours’ CPD you will receive a message prompting you to declare. To do so click the 'Declare' icon or select “I have recorded my required hours” from the CPD Declarations section.

You are then brought to the relevant CPD Declaration page, where you are reminded of the Code of Ethics you agreed to upon joining Engineers Ireland.

You can then click “I agree” and you will receive confirmation that you have completed your CPD Declaration for the year.

No further action is required but you can continue to record further CPD activities.

If you work for a CPD Accredited Employer

You may choose to make your CPD Declaration once you have recorded 35 hours’ CPD with your employer by selecting “I work for a CPD Accredited Employer” from the CPD Declarations section.

You are then brought to the relevant CPD Declaration page where you enter the name of your employer and upload a document from detailing those activities, which can be an excel file, word document, PDF, etc.

You are reminded of the Code of Ethics you agreed to upon joining Engineers Ireland. You can then click “I agree” and you will receive confirmation that you have completed your CPD Declaration for the year. No further action is required but you can continue to record further CPD activities on My CPD if you wish.

 

If you are applying for an exemption from meeting the CPD requirement

You will still need to make a CPD Declaration by selecting “I request an exemption” in the CPD Declaration section.You are then brought to the relevant CPD Declaration page where you add the reason why you are requesting an exemption.

You are reminded of the Code of Ethics you agreed to upon joining Engineers Ireland. You can then click on “I agree”. You will receive the following statement, “You have requested an exemption due to (and the reason why)”. No further action is required but you may record CPD activities using My CPD if you wish.

How to use My CPD

What is a CPD activity title?

This is the name that identifies the learning activity. It could be a course title, the name of a site visit, a work presentation or a professional body committee meeting.

Can I record an activity that I have begun but yet to finish?

You cannot enter activities that you are planning to do in the future, only activities that you have completed. For an activity that takes place over a period of time you can record it in stages. For example, January 5th – March 10th, module 1 of a Diploma course, and then March 14th – May 26th module 2, etc.

What is CPD Time Spent?

This is the amount of time you devoted to that learning activity. You can count a maximum of 35 hours for one activity. If an activity is more than 35 hours you will need to break it down to component parts. The minimum time period you can use is 30 minutes. Engineers Ireland suggests that Self-directed learning should count for no more than a maximum of 14 hours of your annual total. Members should aim to undertake a balance of CPD activities across the different CPD categories.

What is a CPD type?

There are many different learning activities that count as CPD. Engineers Ireland has identified 6 types of CPD:

  1. Work-based learning
  2. Professional bodies activities
  3. Self-directed learning
  4. Mentoring and Coaching
  5. Courses, seminars and conferences
  6. Further Education

What is a CPD Provider Organisation?

This is the organisation that provides the CPD activity, so it could be your employer, a professional body such as Engineers Ireland, a training provider, the source of self-directed learning such as a professional journal or website, etc.

What is a competence?

A competence is a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge, skills and attitudes for achieving observable results. Engineers Ireland categorises competences come under five headings: 

  1. Engineering knowledge and understanding
  2. Development and implementation of engineering solutions
  3. Professional responsibility and leadership
  4. Communication skills
  5. Ethical practice

This feature may be useful if you are planning to apply for a professional title with Engineers Ireland. You can read more in the Registered Titles section. You can add up to a maximum of three competences with an individual CPD activity.

For more information on competences, see here.
 

 

What is Verification?

Verification is any document or link that you may wish to use as support for a CPD activity. It could be a certificate of attendance or achievement for a course or a link to a Journal article. You can add PDF and JPG documents of up to 3MB.

What is the 'Export CSV' function?

This is available in the My Records section once you have recorded an activity. You can export a record of your CPD Activities to you own computer to share/print.

 

I record my CPD activities for another professional body. Do I need to record them twice?

If you already have a record of your CPD activities with another Professional Body, you can add this as an individual CPD Activity. You could choose a date range from January 1st to the current date. You can declare a maximum of 35 hours (although you may have undertaken more than 35 hours CPD) Once you have recorded 35 hours’ CPD you will be prompted to make your CPD declaration for the year. You can attach your record from the other Professional Body with this activity for verification purposes.

Can I add CPD activities to my record after the CPD declaration deadline has passed?

Yes you can add CPD activities to your record after the deadline has passed. However, you will not be able to retrospectively make a declaration after the deadline has passed. Nonetheless, Engineers Ireland will have a record of those CPD activities for the given year. Please see the following short video on how to add CPD hours retrospectively.