Professional Development - How to do it

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Professional Development – How to do it



What is this guide?

The Professional Development Partnership*

has produced this guide for all members of

the five institutions. It has been written in

such a way that the information and

suggestions are appropriate no matter

which institution you belong to, or whether

you are working towards professional

recognition or just for your own needs.

We sincerely hope that you will find this a

useful resource that you can refer back to

throughout your career. We have made

every effort to make it simple to use and

easy to understand. However, we are

always looking for feedback and ideas to

help make it better. If you have a query on

the contents, or a suggestion, please do

let us know. We can be contacted

through the individual institutions (see

Institution Contact Details, page 6.13 in

Frequently Asked Questions and

References). You may also like to use the

website version of this document whichcan be accessed at www.PD-How2.org.

* The Professional Development Partnership

(PDP) is made up of the professional

development teams from IMechE, IEE, IIE,

IOP and RAeS. Our aim is to bring a unified

approach for professional development to

our members, their organisations and the

industry as a whole.

How to use this guide

How you use this guide is up to you. Largely

it will depend on whether you are using it to

assist in your long-term development, or

whether you are using it to work towards a

particular qualification or professional

registration. It has been designed for use at

any stage of your life, whatever your career

stage, or category of membership.

The sections entitled Planning, Doing,

Recording and Reviewing will guide you

through the professional development

process and help you to plan and record

your lifelong learning in a structured way. The

section entitled Frequently Asked Questions

and References contains documents that

you might find useful for reference, now and

in the future. There are also additional blank

dividers in case you wish to add other

information or work of your own.

Members working towards professional

registration will need to assemble records ina way that demonstrates that they meet the

requirements. The section entitled

Professional Registration, under Frequently

Asked Questions and References, contains

guidance on how to do this.

Your professional development is unique. This

is because it must meet with your precise

needs, and those of your employer, at the

particular time. However, whether you are

working towards a qualification, a different

level of membership of your institution, or considering your current performance levels

and longer-term career opportunities, the

process is the same.

This guide gives simple guidelines to help you

achieve your desired outcome. It is

designed so that you can either read

through it, following the sections in the

specified order, or go straight to the sections

that you are interested in. Busy people can

make use of the short and simple

introduction, found in the section titledGetting started, on page 1.3 of the

Introduction section. Read on to find out

how we can help you make the most of

your career.

Professional Development – how to do it

E6A4021 630

August 2004



Index to sections

Page

IntroductionWhy you should undertake professional development 1.1

The professional development cycle 1.2

Getting started 1.3

PlanningPlanning to achieve 2.1

Why should I plan? 2.1When should I plan? 2.3

What should I include in my plan? 2.4

What planning tools are there to help me? 2.8

Using standards 2.9

Appraisals 2.10

Learning styles 2.10

Working with competences 2.12

DoingIdentifying learning opportunities 3.1

Accessing opportunities 3.3Pointers to learning resources 3.3

Turning learning into competence 3.4

Motivation 3.4

Gaining support 3.5

Asking for help and advice 3.7

Seeking financial support 3.7

Mentoring 3.8

Best practice in mentoring 3.10

RecordingKeeping records 4.1

Building a portfolio of evidence 4.3

Forms for recording your professional development 4.8

Introduction/2



Page

ReviewingReview is the start and the finish! 5.1

Reflective learning 5.1

Frequency of review 5.1

Starting your review 5.3

Tracking progress 5.3

Evaluating your approach 5.3

Sources of help 5.3Measuring progress 5.3

Sharing learning 5.4

Frequently Asked Questions and ReferencesFrequently asked questions 6.1

Professional registration 6.3

Roles & responsibilities 6.8

Competence & commitment statements 6.9

Institution contact details 6.17

Useful contacts 6.18

Definition of terms 6.19

Introduction/3



Why you should undertake

professional development

Professional development is one of the

cornerstones of our working lives. It is the

process which keeps us interested in our

work, gives us the drive to progress our

careers, keeps industry competitive and,

ultimately, makes us employable

throughout our lives. What’s more, it is

something we do every day of our lives

without even thinking about it.

If you are to maximise your potential for

lifetime employability, it is essential that

you maintain high levels of professional

competence by continually improving

your knowledge and skills.

The job market is forever changing. You

may no longer be able to rely on your

employer to identify and satisfy your

development needs. You may well move

jobs frequently during your working life.

Therefore, you need to take ownership of

your career and its continuing

development.

The effect of such changes has increased

the demands on people in all walks of life

to maintain documentary evidence of

their continued competence; and

nowhere is this more important than in

science and engineering, where

technology is advancing so swiftly. In your own best interests, you should be

developing a personal portfolio of your

professional activities and their relevance

to your current job and your continued

career as well as your future ambitions.

By taking ownership of your career and

focusing your professional development

you will:

• Be better able to recognise opportunity.

• Be more aware of the trends and

directions in technology and society.

• Become increasingly effective in the

workplace.

• Be able to help, influence and lead

others by your example.

• Be confident of your future employability.

• Have a fulfilling and rewarding career.

Taking a structured approach to your

professional development will enable you

to demonstrate continuing commitment to

your profession. What’s more, the good

practice of regularly reviewing your needs,

and selecting appropriate learning

activities to help you fulfil them, will give

your career focus and meaning.

Focus on your professionalism…

and your career

It is vital if your career is to be fulfilling and

successful that you focus on maintaining

and building upon your current

competences. This is so, whether or not

you intend seeking promotion, greater

responsibility, professional recognition

through membership of an institution or a

professional qualification, or a change in

career direction. Increasing demands for

accountability, rising tides of regulations,

legislation, new technologies and, of

course, business’s need for diversification,

affect the employability of all

professionals. Therefore, it is imperative

that you work at ensuring you continue to

benefit from the standing and recognition

you have already achieved.

You may have a desire to take on greater

responsibility in your present working area,

wish to move into another professional field

or discipline, or even change direction

completely. Whatever your aim, it is

sensible to start thinking about where your

career is going. Drawing up a career plan,

however sketchy at first, will help you to

identify various pathways that may be

open to you now, pick out markers along

the way, and help you to recognise options

open to you as they emerge. Don’t forget,

you will have some transferable knowledge

and skills in addition to any new ones you

will require, and these should be recorded.

1Introduction

Introduction/1.1



Maintaining records of your development

will help you to focus on your career plan.

Again you should start simply and keep it

under revision. As you progress with the

process of planning, and recording, you

will find it easier to review and amend as

new options become available.

The professional development cycle

demonstrates how structured professional

development becomes cyclical and

self-fulfilling.

The professional

development cycle

The professional development cycle

explains the process of effectively

planning, doing, recording and reviewing

your development.

Consisting of five phases, this cycle is the

same for professionals from a wide range

of backgrounds, disciplines and working

environments, as well as ages and stages

of their careers. However, the level of

detail you go into at each phase will vary

widely, depending on your needs and

circumstances.

Professional development is about

improving your chance of achieving your

career aims, being successful in your

current job, keeping yourself up-to-date,

and, in effect, remaining employable.

Whatever your intended outcome, the use

of a planned, focused approach will help

you to realise your potential.

You will find that by following the

professional development cycle and

creating a structured plan, the

effectiveness of your development is

enhanced. It can be used as an extremely

powerful selling tool at all stages of your

career.

The cycle is a continuous process – the

best place to begin is by reviewing your

current position. Then simply follow each

step around the cycle, until you are back

at review. You do not need to be rigid in

your approach, you can review progress,

update your plan, or grab a development

opportunity at any time. It’s up to you.

1

Introduction/1.2

Determinethe skillsyouneed

What skills do Ineed now andfor the future?

ReviewAm I making realprogress towards

achieving myaims and goals?

Plan toachieve

How can I raise,maintain or

acquire skills to

the requiredlevel?

Recordyour learning

What am Ilearning and what

evidence do I

need to keep?

Identifyyour goals

What do I aimto achieve fromprofessional

development?

O U T P U T

O U T P U T

I N P U T

I N P U T

O U T P U T

I N P U

T

I N P U T

O U T P U T I N P U T

O U T P U T

Statements from thereview phase or

analysis of current situation

An outline of your aims and goals

and the time-frame

Identified andprioritised skillswhich you need

to satisfyyour goals

List of the mainskills you need toconcentrate on

Consider your methodof learning, and thetime and resource

implications

A realisticdevelopmentaction plan

Consider the requirementsof your professional

institution and/or employer

Summary log ofyour achievements

Personal assessmentof achievements

to date

Statement of your progress towards

achieving your aimsand goals andproduction ofupdated CV



Getting started

This guide contains a plethora of information

to help you find out about professional

development and all its surrounding issues

in detail. However, we recognise that not

everyone has the time to read everything,

and that you may be just looking for a

quick push to get you started. That is what

these pages are all about.

We’ve taken the essentials from each of

the four sections to create a step-by-steplist to get you going. Use these pages to

give you the basic ‘how-to’ for a speedy

start, or skip them now, and use them just

as a quick reference once you’ve read

the rest of the guide.

Planning

Step 1 – Think about your goals. Jot down

where you want to be and the things you

want to achieve next year (short term), in

two to five years (medium term), and in 10

years (long term).

Step 2 – Starting with your short-term list,

think about what actual things you will

need to do in order to make those goals

happen. It might be that you need to

learn a new skill, gain some experience of

a different area/role, take on more

responsibility, or many other things.

You might also like to look at your medium-

term plan, to see if there are any things

which you could include in your short-term

plan, to form the first steps in realising

those goals too. You will end up with a list

of things to do over the next year or so.

Step 3 – Prioritise. Look at your list and

consider which things need to be done

before you can start on others, or which

items are more important or time-bound(i.e. the opportunities will only arise at

certain times). You can then put your list in

order of importance, and it might help you

establish some time-frames.

Step 4 – Set objectives. Look at the first

three or four items on your list (you will

work on these first). Examine them

thoroughly so that you can turn them into

SMART objectives. To do this each one

must have a Specific target, be

Measurable (you must be able to

recognise when you have achieved it), be

Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound

(have a deadline).

Step 5 – Write it down. Committing your

plan to paper will make you morecommitted to making it happen. Finish by

setting a date when you will review your

plan – and putting it in your diary!

TIP: Rather than starting from scratch why

not use the notes from your last appraisal,

any preparation you may have done for

your last job interview, your CV, or current

job description as the basis for this stage.

Doing

Step 1 – Look at the items on your plan and

consider how they might be achieved. Do

they require formal learning (such as a

training course) or will you need to access

some materials (e.g. books or CDs)? Will

you need to rely on someone else to help

you – for example asking a colleague to

teach you new skills? For each of your

goals work out a plan of action.

Step 2 – Know thyself! If you can, try to

learn in ways that suit you. Some people

like to understand the theory before

attempting something – so they would

read a book, and then try it out. Others

like to experiment and learn in a more

practical way. These people might learn

better from watching someone else and

then trying it themselves. If you adopt an

approach that suits the way you learn,

then you are more likely to pick it up

quickly.

1

Introduction/1.3



Step 3 – Make time to make it happen. If

you are really committed to developing

yourself then you will have no problem

finding the time to learn. Once you know

how you are going to tackle each goal,

make time in your diary to do it. If you

need the help of others, ring them now

and make an appointment to go and

explain what it is you need.

Step 4 – Gain support. It is always nice to

be asked for help, and people are usually

more than willing to help. When asking for support, be concise about what you want,

and give feedback on the results.

Recording

Step 1 – Keep a log book of your learning.

Jot down things that you learn – not just

from formal occasions, but from everyday

events and on-the-job experiences.

Step 2 – Review your learning to aid

consolidation and implementation. When

you learn something new think about how

that knowledge will affect your

performance. How can you use it to make

you better at your job? What behaviours

will you change in light of what you now

know? Talking to your manager or mentor

can help you with this.

If you are using competences –

Step 3 – Decide which competence each

piece of your learning is linked to. As your

learning leads to increased and improved

performance (competence) you can

record your new level and chart your

progress.

Step 4 – Collect evidence to prove your

levels of competence. Make sure it is

cross-referenced and indexed so you can

easily find each piece. Update your

portfolio with new evidence as your

competence increases further, and you

will always have an excellent record of

your abilities.

TIP: Whatever system you adopt for your

recording it is important that you keep it

updated regularly. Don’t put it off with the

belief that you will remember it later – youwon’t!

Reviewing

Step 1 – Your diary tells you it’s time to

review (or it will do if you did the planning

bit correctly!). Take out your action plan

and your learning log and set aside an

hour.

Step 2 – Consider each item on your plan.

Have you achieved it? If so, then tick it off.

If not, then consider why – the answer you

come up with will help you to decide

whether to remove the item (because it’s

not needed now), forward it onto your

plan for the next period, or change the

goal (because it was not appropriate or

realistic). Looking back over your learning

log will help you to see where your

learning has contributed to you meeting

your goals. You’ll probably be amazed athow much you have achieved!

Step 3 – Overall, consider how well you

have got on, and what has helped or

hindered you. This will inform your planning

for the next period. If you are continually

sticking for the same reason, then maybe

you need to consider your approach.

Perhaps a complete change in the way

you tackle things will improve your success

rate. Be honest – if you’re not, the onlyperson you will let down is yourself.

1

Introduction/1.4



Planning to achieve

Managing your professional development

is just like managing any other project. You

need to set specific targets in order to

achieve your objectives. You now need a

structured approach – a Plan.

When thinking about your plan you should

consider:

• When and how you learn best.

• The type of activities that will be mosteffective for you.

• The financial and time resource

implications of your plan.

• Whether or not your employer is

supportive of your development.

Many people are opportunists who prefer

to take advantage of opportunities as

they arise, rather than work steadily

towards a planned goal. It is helpful to

realise your own inclination in this matter.

The most successful opportunists are those

who ensure they are always ready and

able to seize an opportunity when it

comes.

It is worthwhile, even at this planning

stage, to think about gathering evidence.

This could be for use in your appraisal, in

compiling your CV, or for your portfolio.

Taking this into consideration now will help

you to avoid having to retrace your steps

to gather evidence if you need to later.

Why should I plan?

There are many reasons why you should

plan your professional development, not

least because if you don’t you won’t

appreciate your achievements and will

not be able to track your progress. Here

we explore further the reasons why it is

worthwhile investing a little time now in

order to reap the benefits of thorough

planning later.

Understanding future needs

Few people are lucky enough to start life

knowing what they want to be when they

grow up, and sticking to that idea

throughout their education and

subsequent career. Even fewer are able to

follow a precisely defined career path

where development and promotion occur

at pre-determined stages.

In the 21st century professionals are

responsible for their own careers and have

to make decisions about where they want

to go next. They must be able to adapt to

sudden career changes, whether these

result from new opportunities or

redundancy. This may seem to rule out the

need to plan where you want your career

to take you, but in reality strengthens the

case for assessing your future needs and

planning how to gain the competence

you will need to meet them.

In terms of your future needs, you should

also give some thought to the type of

support which might help you to achieve

your plan. For example, will you require a

mentor at some stage? If so, when, and

where would you look for one? What other

types of supporters would you want? If you

are thinking of gaining NVQs you will need

to identify assessors and verifiers. You may

also need financial support and/or flexibleworking arrangements if you are planning

to study for a further qualification. You can

find out more about gaining support on

page 3.5 of the Doing section.

2Planning

Planning/2.1



Business needs

Think about the business you are working

in: what is the likely future demand for your

product? Who are your competitors?

What other threats face your business?

What is the research and development

department working on, and how might

this affect you? What are the likely

opportunities for promotion or a sideways

move within the company? Companies

are subject to mergers, takeovers, closure

and strategic changes in output or location; all of which provide career

opportunities and threats.

With the pace of technical change,

businesses need those who are familiar

with the latest technology, or have the

capability to bring themselves up to speed

very quickly. Keeping an eye on the

technical press, attending lectures and

talking to customers and suppliers will help

you to identify the technical changes most

likely to affect your business. Acquiring the

relevant skills will give you a head start in

meeting the challenge of change when it

comes. Alternatively, you may find that a

new technology is of particular interest,

and want to create the opportunity for a

move in that direction.

Soft skills, transferable skills and

interpersonal skills are all terms which have

come into common usage in recent years.

Surveys of employers frequently indicatethat these skills are often in short supply,

especially among technical professionals

and new entrants to the workforce. You

will need to have or gain these skills simply

to function in most jobs, but if you want to

progress to senior levels you will have to

develop them to a high level. These types

of skills also tend to be very generic – at a

superficial level the requirements may

seem to differ according to an employer’s

culture, but the basic principles still apply.

So you need to plan to acquire and

enhance a whole range of these skills.

Your employer may have formal

mechanisms in place to identify business

needs and corresponding development

plans for employees. You may find yourself

being groomed for a specific role, or part

of a cohort expected to progress to a

certain level within the organisation. If this

is the case, your employer will identify the

skills you need to meet their objectives,

and may have a structured development

scheme to enable you to acquire them

over a certain time-scale. If your employer

has such a scheme but you are not on it,you may want to find out how to get

involved.

Career/job goals

You will need to think about a whole host

of factors. Most importantly, your

aspirations, the needs of your current and

potential future employer, and your

personal goals. Where do you want to be

this year, next year or in five years time?

Doing the same job? Promoted within your

company? Or somewhere completely

different? You will greatly improve your

chances of creating or taking advantage

of career opportunities if you predict these

needs, and acquire the corresponding

skills in a structured manner.

You may have some very clear ideas

about what you want to do next. If this is

the case, you should be able to gather information to help you analyse the skill

requirements and identify any shortfall in

your existing skill set. Talking to the person

doing the job, looking at the job

description and person specification, and

talking it through with a mentor, will all

help you to gain an understanding of

what is required.

On a broader level, you may want to start

with a clean sheet of paper and identify

what you could or would like to do if you

had a career change. For this you may

need to do some fairly broad reading.

Picking up professional and in-house

2

Planning/2.2



publications could give you ideas for

different disciplines or fields of activity

which might appeal to you, or of where

opportunities are increasing or declining.

From there, getting in touch with someone

working in that field is the most likely way

of getting a real understanding of the

nature of the work, the industry and the

skills required. The Sector Skills Councils

(formerly National Training Organisations)

publish ‘skills foresight’ documents which

give a good insight into the needs of

particular industries. Specialist libraries,such as those run by institutions, are a

good source of information. Your institution

may also have special interest groups, or a

careers service, who can put you in touch

with employers or individuals.

Personal goals

An employer-led scheme is great if your

aspirations coincide with what your

company wants from you, although you

may still be expected to influence the

development plan. However, you may

have different ideas, and need to take

steps to ensure you achieve your own

objectives.

On a more personal level, you need to

consider your broader goals and

aspirations. While these may range from

being in a job this time next year to

becoming the Chairman of the Board,they will also encompass the broader

aspects of your life such as family,

community and other interests. Your

personal goals may include planning a

family, taking time out to travel, or

becoming President of your institution! So

how much time do you have, to

undertake career-related development

outside the workplace? Will non-work

activities affect your career path?

Remember that these activities can

provide you with valuable experience,

skills and attitudes which may support and

enhance your competence in the

workplace.

Personal goals could also include the

decision to seek formal assessment or

recognition of your achievements through

gaining an academic qualification or

professional registration. You will need to

find out whether your employer would be

willing to support you in this. If the answer is

no, and you are still determined to get the

qualification you will have to make some

tough decisions about how you will do it,

and what the true value of it will be to you.

If you want the qualifications in order to

meet professional registration requirements,you will also need to think about how you

can create a self-managed scheme, and

who might be willing to act as a mentor or

assessor for you.

When should I plan?

You need to start your planning now. If you

don’t have a direction to go in, then youwon’t know what to do to help you get

there, or recognise when you’ve got there!

The period that your plan covers is up to

you. Generally plans fall into three

categories – long-term, medium-term and

short-term. However, what is long-term to

you might be quite different to someone

else’s view. The norm is that short-term is

about one year, medium-term is up to five

years and long-term is up to 10 years. It is

difficult for anyone to plan for longer than

10 years in today’s world.

The amount of detail in your plans will vary

too. Longer-term plans might just be ideas

or visions for the future, while your short-

term plan should have specific milestones

and deadlines for you to work towards.

You will need to think about planning

regularly – at least once per year. Once

you have done your first plan, subsequentplanning sessions will consist of a review of

the past development period, and adding

new actions for the next period.

2

Planning/2.3



Reviewing your plans

It is important to plan for review periods.

You need to review for two reasons, to

make sure you are keeping to your plan,

and to make any necessary amendments

as circumstances change.

Sometimes it is not possible to guess what

the future will bring. At times of

uncertainty, such as company insecurity,

or when you can see many possible

options ahead, and don’t know where

you will end up, you will need to keep your plan flexible. Make sure you review your

situation regularly and consider alternative

options and contingencies.

However good your plan, it cannot take

account of unexpected opportunities that

arise from time to time. Just because

something is not in your current short-term

plan doesn’t mean that you can’t take

advantage of it: you might just need to

change your plans to take the new

opportunities into account.

Seizing unplanned opportunities

It is very important to always keep your

plans firmly in mind, and to keep a watch

for opportunities arising which will help you

meet your goals – not just for the things in

your current plan. If an opportunity arises

that will help you towards one of your

longer-term goals, but it’s not in your

current plan, just adjust your plans and gofor it! This shows that it is possible to work to

more than one plan at a time.

Conflict between personal and job goals

may also mean you need to have two

plans active at any given time. You may

have an action plan which is the result of

your appraisal, and contains only job-

specific goals. At the same time you may

have a personal goal which requires you

to develop additional skills to the ones

identified for your work. Obviously you willneed to carefully balance your activities,

so as not to stretch yourself too far, but you

should be able to work to both plans in

parallel.

What should I include in

my plan?

So you know you need to plan, and how it

will help you to achieve your goals; but

how do you go about deciding what to

put in your plan? If you are fortunate

enough to have a supportive employer

and regular appraisals, then you have a

good place to start. Here we look at some

other ways to help you define what your

plan should include.

Determine the skills you need

a) Thinking in terms of competence

The goals you have in mind will indicate

the specific knowledge and skills you need

to acquire. At this point, it is more helpful

to think of these in terms of competences

rather than of knowledge to be gained.

This way you will be clearer about what

you actually need to do. Also, expressing

your development in terms of

competence will help you to explain to

others what exactly you have achieved,

and why it is important and useful.

There is nothing new or strange about

personal self-assessment – we do it every

day. If we didn’t understand our

capabilities and limitations, we might allenter the London Marathon! We assess

ourselves every time we consider a job

advert – Would I like the job? Could I do

it? Do I match the job specification?

However, we are often less sure about

carrying out a regular assessment of our

needs and capabilities in relation to our

everyday work activities.

Your institution believes that professional

development is a self-owned and self-

managed activity: self-assessment of

competence is a logical extension of this

concept.

2

Planning/2.4



Ideally, these processes are carried out

with the support of your employer.

However, in these turbulent times for

business and employment, this may not

always be possible or, even, sometimes

advisable. Your own development aims

may at times vary from those of your

employer, or you may be working for

yourself or enjoying a portfolio career.

Whatever the circumstances, there is now

a requirement to assess more accurately

and confidently your own needs and

accomplishments, both in reviewing your goals and plans, and judging how well

you are doing.

What really matters is that you can clearly

see progress in your competences and

that you build evidence of this progress

over time, in directions that support both

your career and your personal objectives.

You can find out more about

Competences on page 2.12.

TIP: For the purposes of your own

professional development, it might be

useful to be aware of the Engineering

Council (UK)’s summary of overall

competence for engineers which states

that competence of an individual

includes:

• The basic knowledge, understanding,

experience and skills appropriate to the

level of registration.• A detailed understanding of the

principles and a mastery of the

knowledge and analytical skills required

for the specialist engineering role.

• The ability to perform the technical role

fully and well.

• The supervisory management and

personal skills required to be effective in

both expected and unforeseen

situations.

b) Information to include

Employer schemes – many employers

have specific development schemes for

their employees. If this applies in your

case, then they will almost certainly help

you identify your development actions.

You may wish to set yourself additional

goals, but the scheme will provide the

starting point for your plan.

Appraisals – any development actions

identified on your last appraisal must beincluded in your plan. Even if your

development action plan is for your

personal use, you will need to take into

account the development that your

manager has identified for you.

Accredited professional development

schemes – these schemes, run by

employers, have been accredited by the

relevant institution(s) to ensure they meet

all the requirements to support their

employees in achieving professional

registration. If you are lucky enough to be

included on one of these schemes, you

will have all the help you need to prepare

your development action plan; particularly

in identifying your competences.

Competence frameworks – although your

employer may not have a formal scheme,

they may have competence frameworks

in place. These will detail the skills and

knowledge required for each role or function, and you will be able to use these

in assessing any development you may

need for your current, or a possible future,

role. If your employer doesn’t have a

competence framework you may still find

it helpful to plan your development in

terms of the competences you will

acquire.

Legal Requirements – very few areas of

engineering in the UK are governed by

strict codes of conduct or requirements for

specific amounts or types of professional

development. However, it will be wise for

you to include in your planning and

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reviewing, any changes in legislation or

best practice with respect to your specific

area, and those for health, safety and the

environment.

There are, of course, many other

possibilities that will arise from your job,

your network of colleagues and friends,

private reading, conferences and events,

etc. Your institution, and more especially its

various committees, national and local

events, and publications will also provide

ideas and guidance. Other engineeringinstitutions, both in the UK and overseas,

together with those of non-engineering

professions, can also provide valuable

guidance.

c) Standards

As well as using job descriptions,

appraisals, competence frameworks, etc

as a means of identifying the

competences you may wish to develop,

you should identify any performance

standards that apply to your work. These

may be laid down at international,

national or company level, and include

quality, safety and environmental

standards. Effectively, standards enable

you to assess whether you have done the

job properly. Many published standards

are available for you to use. This is covered

in more detail in the section on Standards

on page 2.9.

d) Gap analysis

Comparing your existing competence

profile (in terms of both areas and degrees

of competence) against the profiles for

your existing post, or jobs you aspire to, is

an important step when setting objectives

and developing your development action

plan. Only when you have established the

‘gap’ (the difference between where you

are now and where you want to be), will

you be able to identify methods for

bridging it. Mentors and line managers

can be of invaluable assistance in this

type of exercise, as well as an excellent

source of ideas as to how to go about

addressing your ‘gaps’.

Focus your learning

When you have reached the end of this

stage you may find you have created a

daunting list: it is therefore a good idea to

concentrate on only a few areas at any

one time. Choose only those competencesimmediately relevant to your current job to

start with. That way you will be able to

experience discernible or measurable

progress and consolidate your learning.

Set realistic and achievable targets for

yourself and have only, say, three or four

targets to reach for any one period.

Obviously, if you meet your targets early

you can always bring your review forward!

Consider your learning style

Knowing which learning style suits you best

will enable you to ensure that your

learning is effective and help you in

selecting the most appropriate learning

activities. However, you should also realise

that you may have a mix of different

styles. You can read more about learning

styles, and find out which is your style,

further on in this section on page 2.10.

Getting the balance right

Whilst it is vital that you gain the technical

knowledge and skills required to perform

well in your specific role, it is also important

to keep a balance between technical

and personal development. Personal skills

that you need to strengthen may include

management skills, communications,

problem-solving abilities, health & safety,

commercial knowledge or an

understanding of other specialist business

functions.

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Keeping a balance within your

development will make you a more ‘well-

rounded’ professional and will help you to

perform better within your own area. It will

also allow you to take advantage of

opportunities that may arise to work in other

areas, or prepare you for future promotion.

Another way of maintaining balance is to

ensure that you undertake different types

of learning. It is very easy to only think

about on-the-job learning, or self-managed

learning, but gaining qualifications is alsovaluable. Qualifications provide ready-

made proof of achievement, and the

cross-fertilisation of ideas between students

from different employers and industries can

be invaluable.

Prioritisation

Initially, you will need to consider exactly

what it is you must tackle first. The first step

is to make a list of the tasks facing you –

and it may be possible to break larger

projects into stages; once you have this

list, you can consider them individually. At

this point, you can consider whether tasks

are urgent or important. Urgent tasks are

time-bound, so have to be completed by

a certain date. However, the task may be

of no importance. Some urgent tasks will

never be undertaken. Important tasks

need to be done, but are not urgent – so

do not need to be completed by a‘rapidly approaching’ deadline.

Considering what you need to have

achieved before you can do this task is

one way of deciding which tasks must

come before others. In this way you will be

able to order the tasks appropriately, and

so can list them in the order in which you

intend to tackle them.

Note: Although you will have an ordered

list of tasks, if opportunities arise for you to

do a later task before an earlier one, these

should not be overlooked. You can always

change your priorities if you need to.

Level of detail

The amount of detail you put into your

plan is up to you. Some people prefer to

set very defined and specific goals, whilst

others have quite broad headings and

little detail. You may decide not to go into

very much detail for your long- and

medium-term plans, but set specific goals

for your current short-term plan. This will

avoid you spending too much time

specifying goals which are a long way off,

and therefore liable to change, whilstensuring that your immediate objectives

are well defined. Of course, you can

always add detail to your objectives as

you work with, and review, your plan.

Setting a review date

Reviewing your plan is a vital part of the

development process. Your plan needs to

be up-to-date and appropriate in order to

be an effective tool. It is therefore

important that you regularly update it to

remove the goals that you have already

achieved, add new targets for the next

period, and to ensure it reflects any

changes in your circumstances.

The frequency of your reviews will depend

on a number of factors, some of which

may be very personal. Nothing should be

regarded as set in stone, but should be

seen as flexible, to fit in with your currentcircumstances. See Reviewing, for more

help on setting and doing your reviews.

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What planning tools are

there to help me?

There are many sources of help that you

can access whilst planning your

professional development. You will find

ideas throughout the planning section of

this guide. Some that you may already

have read about are competence

frameworks, published standards, gap

analysis, learning styles, and of course the

help of your manager and/or mentor willbe invaluable. Other tools that you might

like to try are:

SWOT analysis

We are often required to undertake a

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats) analysis of a

project or other aspect of our work. We

can apply the same technique to

assessing the possibilities for our own

careers.

Understanding what our strengths and

weaknesses are will help us to know where

we are most likely to be successful and in

what areas we will need to work harder to

achieve. Likewise, knowing what

opportunities are likely to arise will help us

ensure that we are ready to take

advantage of them; and being aware of

possible threats gives us the chance totake action to minimise any negative

consequences.

You might like to ask for help in doing this

analysis. Your Human Resources

department may be able to arrange for

you to undertake some psychometric tests

to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

Talking to your manager or mentor may

help you identify possible opportunities

and threats.

Time management

Setting aside time on a routine basis to

review and update your development

plan and records is essential if you are

serious about your professional

development. Whether you do this daily,

weekly, monthly or annually, schedule

time in your diary when you can focus on

your development needs.

Keeping your records up-to-date is much

easier when things are fresh in your mind.Making time to jot something down, even

if it’s just in note form, will make your

records more accurate and meaningful,

and will save time in the long run.

If you have a mentor you will also need to

arrange regular discussions to review and

plan your progress. It will help you both if

you agree what the frequency of these

discussions should be and allow yourself

some preparation time so that you can

get the most out of the meeting.

Mind mapping

Devised and developed by Tony Buzan,

Mind Mapping is a technique used to

capture ideas from a brainstorming

exercise in an organised and structured

way.

Due to copyright we are unable toreproduce the method here, but further

information can be found in The Mind

Map Book : How to Use Radiant Thinking to

Maximize Your Brain’s Untapped Potential

by Tony Buzan ISBN: 0452273226

360° Feedback

Gaining honest and objective feedback

on your performance is very useful,

particularly when you are attempting to

assess yourself. 360° feedback allows you

to choose the performance issues you

wish to receive feedback on, and select

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colleagues to approach. These people

should be chosen from your superiors,

subordinates, peers, and may also be from

external sources, such as suppliers or

customers – hence 360°. The respondents

should be allowed full confidentiality in

order for them to be honest; with you

receiving the feedback ‘un-named’.

Many companies offer this as a service to

their employees, but you could ask a

colleague or mentor to help you do this

for yourself.

Using standards

If you want help defining what you need to

learn, or would like some proven measures

against which to compare yourself, you will

need to find some standards. If your

employer does not have their own

standards or frameworks for you to use, you

will need to seek them elsewhere.

Some possible sources of standards are:

• External standards – those produced by

institutions, such as the Management

Charter Initiative. These are usually free

and are often cross-referenced to other

standards, allowing you to take elements

from more than one, to build a profile

representative of your individual job.

• Academic – NVQ/SVQs and curriculum

information for other formal

qualifications can give an idea of

expected levels of knowledge and

ability.

• Industry standards – many larger

employers have their own standards and

frameworks for specific jobs or functions.

In addition, employers’ federations and

Sector Skills Councils will have produced

standards, or be able to provideinformation on where these can be

obtained.

• Peer review – comparison between

yourself and others in your company, or

in similar roles within other companies,

can be a useful indicator of your

expertise level. Networking through

institutions is a good way to meet

people in similar jobs to yourself who

may be interested in a mutual exercise.

• Job specifications – these are always a

good starting-point to establish

performance level, not just for your own

job, but for superior levels – and willprove particularly useful if you are

working towards achieving a promotion

or job move.

• Promotion boards – valuable feedback

on your level of performance can be

gained through interview by promotion

boards, and you ought to receive

specific advice and guidance on any

additional development that you need

to achieve the desired level.

NVQ/SVQ frameworks

If you wish to use competences, but don’t

have a framework provided by your

employer, you may find inspiration from

published NVQ frameworks. These are

available from organisations such as

SEMTA (see Useful contacts), and you

should find that, even if they don’t

perfectly fit your role, you will be able toadapt them and make additions to suit

your job. Discussion with your manager or

mentor will be a great help in doing this.

You may find it useful to consult the

following engineering and management

standards when attempting to identify

competences for development:

• Standards for Professional Registration

(see Competence & Commitment

Statements, section Frequently Asked

Questions and References, page 6.9).

• Occupational Standards Council for

Engineering.

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• Chartered Management Institute.

• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

• Engineering Manufacture Training

Association.

• Health & Safety Executive.

• IEE Professional Functions (contact

IEE – see Institution Contact Details,

Frequently Asked Questions and

References, page 6.17).

• Association for Project Management.

• Software Engineering Body of

Knowledge.

• British Computer Society.

Contact details for the above can be

found in Useful Contacts, Frequently Asked

Questions and References, page 6.18.

Appraisals

Most employers have some form of

appraisal system. This can be formal or

informal – the best examples combine

both – and an increasing number are

based on highly developed frameworks of

competence.

The appraisal, normally undertaken

annually, but sometimes more frequently

(especially where informal), is one of the

most valuable items in your assessment

and review armoury.

The Professional Development Partnershipstresses the self-owned, self-managed and

self-assessed nature of an effective

development programme. An effective

appraisal system helps you to self-manage

– by backing-up your own work and

calibrating your own assessments. While

you will be as honest with yourself as

possible, you will find it valuable to use

your employer’s appraisal system to

question your thoughts and give an

independent view. You should, however,

be aware of conflicts of interest, which

may bias any viewpoint. After all, your

employer’s plans may not always be fully

coincident with your personal ones.

Many of your identified competences may

be those agreed with your employer

through the appraisal process. However,

ask yourself whether there are other

competences, around which you should

focus your development – maybe

competences that are of no interest to

your employer, but which will help you in

your career aspirations.

Whatever your purpose, use your appraisal

wisely, and see it as an opportunity to gain

valuable feedback and insight; and togain support for your enthusiasm to learn

and improve.

Learning styles

Understanding the way that you learn new

things, your individual learning style, will

help you choose your learning activities to

ensure you learn most effectively. This

does not mean that you cannot learn

from activities that are not specifically

suited to your own style – in fact it can be

good to choose activities outside your

normal style occasionally, to create a

balance and help to hone your learning

skills.

What is my style?

There are four distinct styles, although it ispossible that you may have traits from

more than one. This is perfectly normal,

and means that you will be able to learn

well in more than one way. They are

Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist.

The definitions below will help you to

decide which is your preferred style.

If you are an Activist – you will probably

want to get involved in a project or

specific assignment to develop the skills on

the job. Tackling very practical open and

flexible learning programmes, or activity-

based training courses will be most

suitable for you.

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*Activists involve themselves fully and

without bias in new experiences. They

enjoy the here and now, and are happy to

be dominated by immediate experiences.

They are open-minded, not sceptical, and

this tends to make them enthusiastic about

anything new. Their philosophy is: ‘I’ll try

anything once’. They tend to act first and

consider the consequences afterwards.

Their days are filled with activity. They

tackle problems by brainstorming. As soon

as the excitement from one activity has

died down they are busy looking for thenext. They tend to thrive on the challenge

of new experiences but are bored with

implementation and longer-term

consolidation. They are gregarious people

constantly involving themselves with others

but, in doing so, they seek to centre all

activities around themselves.

If you are a Reflector – you will appreciate

working closely with someone experienced

in this area, and learning through

observation and discussing your reflections

and plans with a mentor. You will also learn

much from books, articles and case studies.

*Reflectors like to stand back to ponder

experiences and observe them from many

different perspectives. They collect data,

both first hand and from others, and prefer

to think about it thoroughly before coming

to a conclusion. The thorough collection

and analysis of data about experiences

and events is what counts so they tend topostpone reaching definitive conclusions

for as long as possible. Their philosophy is to

be cautious. They are thoughtful people

who like to consider all possible angles and

implications before making a move. They

prefer to take a back seat in meetings and

discussions. They enjoy observing other

people in action. They listen to others and

get the drift of the discussion before making

their own points. They tend to adopt a low

profile and have a slightly distant, tolerant

unruffled air about them. When they act it

is part of a wide picture which includes the

past as well as the present and others’

observations as well as their own.

If you are a Theorist – you will most value

theory-based courses with well-qualified

and experienced trainers, well-written

books and articles.

*Theorists adapt and integrate

observations into complex but logically

sound theories. They think problems

through in a vertical, step-by-step logical

way. They assimilate disparate facts into

coherent theories. They tend to be

perfectionists who won’t rest easy until

things are tidy and fit into a rationalscheme. They like to analyse and

synthesize. They are keen on basic

assumptions, principles, theories, models

and systems thinking. Their philosophy

prizes rationality and logic. ‘If it’s logical it’s

good.’ Questions they frequently ask are:

‘Does it make sense?’ ‘How does this fit

with that?’ ‘What are the basic

assumptions?’ They tend to be detached,

analytical and dedicated to rational

objectivity rather than anything subjective

or ambiguous. Their approach to problems

is consistently logical. This is their ‘mental

set’ and they rigidly reject anything that

doesn’t fit with it. They prefer to maximise

certainty and feel uncomfortable with

subjective judgements, lateral thinking and

anything flippant.

If you are a Pragmatist – you will find that

succinct, practical books and open and

flexible learning are good ways of quickly

putting new learning to practical use. Youwill be particularly attracted to working on

real-life projects and appreciate the help

of someone who can give you some

valuable feedback and coaching.

*Pragmatists are keen on trying out ideas,

theories and techniques to see if they work

in practice. They positively search out new

ideas and take the first opportunity to

experiment with applications. They are the

sort of people who return from courses

brimming with new ideas that they want to

try out in practice. They like to get on with

things and act quickly and confidently on

ideas that attract them. They tend to be

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impatient with ruminating and open-

ended discussions. They are essentially

practical, down to earth people who like

making practical decisions and solving

problems. They respond to problems and

opportunities ‘as a challenge’. Their

philosophy is ‘There is always a better way’

and ‘If it works it’s good’.

*Honey & Mumford 1986 Definition.

Working with competences

The concept of competence has been

with us for a very long time. Many

qualifications are now based around

definitions of competence for specific

roles, the most famous of which are NVQs.

Using competence springs from the idea

that having a good grasp of the

knowledge and theory behind a subject

does not guarantee the ability to turn thatinto competent performance.

Many organisations now use the concept

of competence during their recruitment

processes, and subsequently to measure

and improve employee development. In

fact, job descriptions are a basic definition

of the knowledge, skills and attitude that

are required for a given role. Competence

is defined as being the mix of these three

things.

It is easiest to define a competence as

‘the ability to perform activities to the

standards required in employment, using

an appropriate mix of knowledge, skill and

attitude’. All three aspects must be

present if someone is to be effective in the

workplace. To improve competence you

need to increase not only your

knowledge, but also your understanding of

how that knowledge can be applied; your

skill in applying it; and the attitude toapply it correctly.

To break this down further, knowledge can

be considered as the underpinning

principles or theory of a process or

procedure. For example, at an extremely

simple level, if you are repairing an item of

electrical equipment, you may need to

know what class of equipment it is and

what tests should be performed. Increased

knowledge might take the form of

managing the test and maintenance

programme.

To continue this example, skill could meanthe ability to calibrate the test results.

Greater skill may be required to

immediately recognise that the

component is damaged and,

subsequently, to propose modifications.

Attitude, in this example, could be

expressed as deciding whether it is safe to

carry out the test. An extension of this

would be ensuring that others, who also

carry out the procedure, do so in a safe

manner; and taking corrective action if

this is not so. It could also mean reviewing

the test procedure so that any

unnecessary steps are eliminated or that

further steps to enhance safety or

efficiency are introduced.

Remember, overall competence is made

up of competences in many different

areas. All technical professionals need to

consider the important question of how to

develop competences in areas that areappropriate to their job, and these may

be commercial as well as technical.

Defining competences

Before you can start to work with

competences you need to define four

things:

• What your role encompasses – i.e. what

you need to be competent to do.

• The knowledge, skills and attitude that

make up that competence.

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• At what level you need to be

competent – i.e. whether a basic

knowledge of the subject is adequate,

or do you need to be an expert?

• What you could do to prove that

competence – e.g. what evidence you

could provide.

Defining exactly what tasks you need to

be competent at, and to what level, can

be very difficult. Wherever possible you

should always seek out existing

competence frameworks, and your personnel department may be able to

help you identify where these might exist

for your particular industry or function.

Indeed, many companies have already

created their own frameworks, or there

may be existing published standards you

can use. (See the section on Standards for

ideas.)

If you are unable to find any existing

frameworks you will need to create your

own. Some organisations have very

detailed job descriptions or person

specifications, which can go a long way

towards helping you create your own set

of competences. To start with you should

aim to assess yourself at this broad level,

rather than trying to analyse the minute

detail of every task you do.

You will need to identify the performance

standards which apply to your work.

Standards may be laid down atinternational, national or company level,

and include quality, safety and

environmental standards. Effectively,

standards enable you to assess whether

you have done the job properly.

Using the broad details of the tasks and

standards that make up your work, you

can then consider the combination of

knowledge, skill and attitude that are

needed to perform your work

competently. Think about technical,

business, managerial and personal skills.

Very often, improving your personal skills

will enhance the way you demonstrate

your wider competences. For example,

presentation or time-management skills

can substantially raise overall

performance and confidence.

Using competences for professional

development

Once you are aware of your current

position, defining where you want to be

and deciding which competences are

your priority for development will be mucheasier tasks. This will then enable you to

produce your development action plan.

We would suggest that you work to

develop only a few new skills or areas of

competence at any given time.

If your goal is to perform a particular

aspect of your current job better, use your

job specification to determine which

aspects of knowledge or skills you need to

work on. Similarly, you do not have to limit

yourself to using specifications that have

been created for your current job. You

may find it useful to make an assessment

of your competence against a framework

for a higher level of responsibility or

different job, particularly if you are aiming

for a promotion or to move into a different

role. This will enable you to complete a

gap analysis, showing you where you

need to take developmental action in

order to achieve your target level of

competence – and therefore your goal.

Many of your goals are likely to be

concerned with technical areas. However,

do not forget your interpersonal skills. Very

often improving your interpersonal skills,

such as your ability to influence people,

can bring considerable benefit.

Assessing competence

Having defined your set of competences,

the next step is to assess yourself against

these. This will give you an indication of

your ability to perform your current role.

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You will need to examine yourself against

each competence statement and decide

what level you think you are operating at.

Comparing yourself to others may help

here, using respected colleagues as a

benchmark of good practice.

Of course, you will not always be able to

do this for yourself: you may need help

from another professional such as your

manager or mentor. Arrange a time to talk

over your performance with them, but be

prepared to accept their feedback!

Levels of competence

It takes time to develop competences,

and you will realise that you will have

different competences, at varying levels of

expertise, in different areas. You may wish

to develop some to a very high level,

while to advance in others may not be so

important or relevant. Remember that it

takes time to develop competence and,

in order to remain competent in a

particular area, you will need to use the

knowledge and associated skills regularly,

or you will slowly lose your proficiency.

Some organisations have formal scales for

assessing competence in particular areas.

Here, line managers/assessors are trained

to judge levels of competence against set

standards. Of course, where standards

exist and where they are relevant to you,they may be used as benchmarks.

However, many professionals use

standards not to measure themselves in

any absolute way, but to be able to

observe/measure their own improvement.

So, if you choose to use levels of

competence for your own development,

do not worry about defining absolute

scales. Do not feel bound to use any

particular measures or definitions, but do

try to use a framework to help you focus

and improve. The broad definitions of

supervised practitioner, practitioner, and

expert, may be useful. Other possible

scales might be:

Category A: Fully competent in area.

Category B: Can demonstrate

competence in most

elements associated with

area.

Category C: Can demonstrate

competence in some

elements associated with

area.

Category D: Unable to offer any evidenceof competence in area.

For grading your knowledge and skill level,

use a five-point scale:

Level 1: Performs the activity with

significant supervision and

guidance

Performs basic routines and

predictable tasks

Little or no responsibility or

autonomy

Level 2: Supervision is only required

in more complex

circumstances

Some individual responsibility

or autonomy

Level 3: Performs the activity in some

complex and non-routine

contexts

Significant responsibility and

autonomy

Can oversee the work of

others

Level 4: Per forms the activity in a

wide range of complex and

non-routine contexts

Substantial personal

autonomy

Can develop others in the

activity

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Level 5: Can take a strategic view

Applies a significant range

of fundamental principles

and complex techniques

across a wide and often

unpredictable variety of

contexts.

Wide scope of personal

autonomy.

Use some form of chart or framework to

monitor the improvement in your competences over time.

Confirming your attainments

In general, providing you are as honest

with yourself as possible, you should feel

comfortable with assessing your own level

of competence. However, you may find it

valuable to use a third party, such as those

listed below, to question your thoughts

and give an independent view:

• Your manager.

• Your mentor.

• Your colleagues.

• Your clients.

You should, however, be aware of conflicts

of interest, which may bias any third

party’s viewpoint, especially when talking

to line managers, clients or colleagues.

Mapping employer’s competence

statements

If you are using your employer’s

competence framework/profile, but you

also wish to use an additional framework,

for example if you want to attain

professional registration, then you will need

a process for mapping the company

competence framework onto the

additional competence statements.

This can be a daunting task, but discussion

with your manager and/or mentor should

help you to match one set to the other.

Using published standards

If you do not have a competence

framework within your company that you

can use, then you can create your own,

based on what other people have done.

There are a number of published general

standards, already mentioned in this

section, elements of which may apply to

your particular role and will provide you

with a starting point in developing your

own.

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Planning/2.15



Identifying learning

opportunities

It is sometimes all too easy to miss the

learning opportunities that may be open

or available to you, both inside and

outside the workplace. The type of

learning activity you undertake will be

dependent on many factors, including

relevancy to the subject, what is right for

you, availability, and what it involves.

1) Learning at work

Many people fail to recognise or take

advantage of the ‘hidden’ learning

opportunities that already exist in the

workplace. Undertaking new tasks or

projects, or working closely with (or work

shadowing) a colleague, can both

provide a way of increasing specific

knowledge and awareness. These

opportunities will also improve your

interpersonal skills, such as listening and

questioning. Try to organise appropriate

opportunities with your colleagues, and

talk with your line manager, personnel or

training officer about any formal or

structured training support they provide.

Anything which extends your knowledge

and understanding, or helps you apply

your knowledge to practice, falls into this

category, and such opportunities mayinclude:

Extending Knowledge:

• Research.

• Literature search.

• Prepare reports.

• Present reports.

• Consult specialists.

• Broaden your technical knowledge.

• Talking to suppliers/customers.

Applying Knowledge:

• Undertake design tasks.

• Work with client to determine technical

requirements.

• Analyse performance of engineering

equipment.

• Operate engineering equipment.

• Undertake risk assessment of engineering

equipment.

• Specify engineering equipment.

• Assess engineering test results.

2) Attending training courses

Courses may be available within your own

organisation, via a professional institution or local college, and from a wide range of

specialist training organisations. If your plan

indicates the need for a training course,

you will need to research what is available

to you. Your institution, local college or

Learning & Skills Council (LSC) may be able

to help you. Your choice should take into

account your preferred learning style, time

available to you, location and, of course,

how much you or your employer is

prepared to pay. There are many types of

training courses to choose from:

• Short and specific.

• Longer in-depth.

• Concentrated on theoretical knowledge.

• Very practical; full of activities allowing

you to experiment with new skills.

3) Reading, attending lectures and

networking

Professional and specialist magazines and

journals often contain valuable articles,

features or series on the knowledge and

skills you have identified as areas for

improvement. Attending local events,

such as a lecture, will help your

understanding, and provide a chance for

you to meet with other professionals.

Events run by local professional groups,

especially institution branch events, are

particularly useful for this.

It is important for many reasons that you

build up a network of contacts, both

locally and wider afield. Not only can

3Doing

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these be a source for obtaining learning

support, but they will provide you with a

source of informed opinion on current

trends and developments.

Even if you are not currently considering

your future needs, now is a good time to

begin compiling a database of contacts.

It will prove useful to get into the habit of

exchanging business cards with interesting

people you meet at conferences and

other events. You may find that these are

people able and willing to help, when thetime is ripe for you to move employer – or

if you simply need advice or mentoring

support in later career. Do not call them

‘cold’, however: maintain periodic

contact (even if on relatively routine – or

even social – matters) over the years.

4) Open and flexible learning

Open, flexible or distance learning has

become a very powerful way for busy

professionals to develop new skills.

Materials come in a variety of media –

printed matter, videos, interactive CDs,

and via the internet. Their main benefit is

that you can use them as you please, in

your own time and at your own pace.

Feedback on your progress usually comes

from the materials themselves, and/or from

tutors who review your assignments.

5) Learning from life outside work

As an individual you will probably be

involved in many activities, organisations,

sports, societies etc. which, although not

directly connected to professional

development, can make a contribution in

many ways to your personal development.

Often it is experiences outside the

immediate work environment which do

most to develop personal competence,

and it is worth recording this type of

experience to supplement your personal

portfolio.

As a professional engineer you have a

duty to the public as well as to the

profession. You are strongly encouraged to

maintain involvement with the wider

community and some of the many

possible ways are listed below. The

experience which professional engineers

can bring to these activities is frequently a

great benefit to those organisations, and

through this involvement the engineers

concerned can benefit from seeing at first

hand some activity completely removed

from their normal work.

Examples of the type of experience you

might consider are:

• Involvement in local or national

government, which would widen your

understanding of major issues, help you

to appreciate the complexity of decision

making, and enhance your skill in

negotiation and persuading others.

• Contributing to a voluntary service, such

as St John’s Ambulance, which would

give you vital first-aid skills.

• Involvement in running a youth group,

which would contribute to your

leadership skills.

• Activities in a local club, enhancing your

communication skills and your

organisational ability.

• Participation in a new sport, which might

sharpen your learning skills and improve

your confidence to tackle a new

challenge.• Working with the disabled or

underprivileged, which might deepen

your understanding of the needs of

others.

Don’t forget that you are also learning

from family life. Time spent looking after

small children develops patience,

understanding, a high degree of personal

organisation, and the ability to handle a

multitude of tasks simultaneously.

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6) Learning from your own experiences

Everyone learns from experience, and the

greatest benefits are often achieved from

risky situations or from failure. It is important

to identify success as well as the lessons

learned in any situation, however

apparently negative, and to consider how

it has improved your competence.

Often, people like to try using differentstyles to add ‘balance’ to their learning,

and to help them become more flexible

and a ‘multi-skilled’ learner. Try activities

from different learning styles and see how

you get on. You can find out more about

learning styles under Planning, page 2.10.

Remember to consider your learning style

when finding opportunities for development.

In addition, although it is generally

important that you stick to your plan where

possible, if opportunities arise for you to

do a task with lesser priority before a

higher one, it should not be overlooked.

Opportunities for professional development

do not always arrive at the most

convenient times, and this is why your

plan should be flexible enough to allow

you to benefit from such opportunities

when you can. You can always change

your priorities if you need to.

Accessing opportunities

The internet is a tremendous resource for

finding and accessing learning and

development, and it can be a tempting

place to begin looking for training and

work opportunities. This is fine, and you will

certainly find plenty to choose from!

However, it is sometimes better to start

small, so instead of starting big, begin your search in a small way, by talking to the

person next to you.

Unless you are self-employed or working

alone, your colleagues will have

experience of opportunities they have

identified and exploited in the past. The

prime benefit of talking to colleagues in

an environment similar to yours is that they

will have experienced similar training

needs, and so are likely to have

information directly relevant to you.

In larger companies, the personnel

department will generally be able to put

you in touch with training providers usedby the company, or provide you with lists

of internal courses.

Your institution will have groups/networks

that bring together professionals from

different backgrounds, often on a

nationwide basis. You should be able to

find details of such meetings and events

on your institution’s website. Networking at

such meetings will bring you into contact

with a variety of people in your field, with

whom you can discuss your needs and

share information.

Pointers to learning

resources

Anyone seeking to develop their

professional competence need not go short

of learning resources. The main difficulty isknowing where to start looking for these.

The worldwide web offers endless

possibilities but you can spend a lot of time

surfing before finding what is right for you.

A good place to start is your institution’s

website or Professional Development

Department. Some institutions run

technical and managerial courses but

even if yours doesn’t they will have a list of

providers they can put you in touch with.

Your institution will also have a network of

local and regional groups which put on

lectures and visits which may be of interest

to you. Local libraries carry directories of

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course providers as well as technical

publications and management textbooks.

A countrywide network of Learning and

Skills Councils hold information about

learning providers within their area and

also house SETPOINTS which offer

opportunities for online learning. Local

universities and colleges will have details

of their own courses but often also carry

lists of recognised NVQ assessor/verifiers as

well as other course providers.

Turning learning into

competence

One of the most important contributors to

the growth of your competence will be

the way you capture your learning. This is

probably the most rewarding and

encouraging aspect of following your

development action plan and measuring

your competence, as it demonstrates to us

how we are growing and improving.

Capturing learning is also vital if we aren’t

to lose the valuable learning experiences

that are happening to us every day.

Capturing your learning will enable you to

establish the value of each new skill or

piece of information, and identify which of

your competences it will contribute to. Key

to this process is recognising when you

have learnt something. You may find thisdifficult initially, but you will soon be in the

habit of spotting your own ‘light bulb’!

Starting to think in terms of competences

will also help you here.

Each time you spot that light bulb, stop and

think about it. Ask yourself what you have

learnt, how you can apply that knowledge

in the future, and whether it will make a

direct or indirect difference to your

competence levels. You should be recordingsignificant learning events anyway, but

you may like to write down other events

too, as this will help you in your reflection. If

your competence has improved

significantly as a result of the learning, you

may also update any self-assessment or

competence records you have.

Motivation

1) Motivating yourself

The main motivations in professional

development are the benefits and

rewards it can bring to you personally and

professionally. To maximise the motivation

you feel it is important to have a goal that

you are currently working towards. This

enables you to judge your progress toward

that goal, and to enjoy a feeling of

accomplishment, both at arrival and also

while en route. A good way of defining

your goal, or goals, is through the

development action plan, covered in the

Planning section, page 2.4. It is important

not to limit yourself to short-term goals as

early completion of these could lead toyou losing interest. It is perfectly

acceptable to have goals coming to

fruition several years in the future: those,

you can work towards, one step at a time.

If your goal is to change jobs, it may help

to think of your development in terms of

enhancing your CV. Some projects may

seem unrewarding or uninteresting:

however, you can gain fresh motivation by

considering them in terms of keywords,

such as teamwork, budget planning,

project management, and so on. These

projects can then provide evidence that

you possess these skills. You can go further,

and analyse which competences your

project fulfils.

When you do not wish to change job role

but are finding motivation difficult, you

can identify those elements of your work

you particularly enjoy, and consider how

you could maximise or develop these. For instance, if you particularly enjoy website

development, you could volunteer to take

on further responsibility in this area.

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2) Motivation from others

Talking through our plans and achievements

with others can be a great boost. Even

when we are feeling unmotivated, a quick

chat with a colleague can often make us

see that we have achieved more than we

thought, or that we are still on the right

track. Having a mentor can be an

invaluable support at these times, and will

help us focus on the positives and keep

sight of our goals. Even someone who is

not our formal mentor, but is perhaps atrusted and respected friend, can provide

the kind of positive reinforcement that will

keep you going when you feel as though

you’ve run out of steam.

3) Rewards

Rewards can take many forms, and their

importance will vary according to

personal taste. The most obvious reward of

personal and professional development is

increased employability, which is

especially useful if you are considering a

change in career path or applying for a

promotion. Gaining experience of core

skills (such as interpersonal skills and

project management) can provide a

boost to your CV, and make it sparkle in

comparison with your less developed

peers. Gaining experience in a diverse

range of environments and situations

should increase the range of evidencecontained in your portfolio – again useful

when considering a change of direction.

For those not seeking to change career,

the main reward might be increased

profile within the work environment. As you

become more aware of, and competent

using, various skills, you will become more

in demand at your current location.

In some cases you may be working towards

a specific qualification, or professional

recognition: in this case attaining that

particular goal will be reward in itself. This in

turn will increase your employability.

As mentioned previously, there are

rewards and benefits available to you

outside the work environment. These tend

to be for short-term goals, and can be as

simple as knowing that you have nothing

to do, other than relax, during the

weekend following a week of hard work.

Other rewards can include meals at

restaurants, chocolate or trips to the pub!

Gaining support

One of the most important, but often

overlooked, aspects of professional

development is gaining the support of

others. This can take many forms, not only

in the variety of people who may help

you, but in the type of support that they

are able to give.

Who can help?

Think about those people who might be

able to assist you with your development

plans. Your employer, colleagues, friends

and family are all possible sources of help.

Great benefit can be gained by discussing

your development ideas and problems

with impartial advisers, and they can be a

source of useful ideas and unexpected

opportunities. For this very reason, the

professional institutions strongly advocate

having a mentor – ideally throughout your

career, but certainly in its early stages.

1) Mentoring for career success

If you have a mentor, discussing your

personal and business development needs

should be a natural part of your regular

conversations. There is general

acceptance that most people achieve

better levels of professional success if they

have the guidance and help of a mentor,

someone with whom they can discuss their

career plans. See page 3.8, to find out

more about mentoring.

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2) Manager(s) at work

Talking to your line manager – whether as

a formal appraisal or an impromptu

discussion – will be a vitally important part

of your professional development. These

discussions will help you to establish

opportunities available to you, help you

identify your strengths and weaknesses,

and give you valuable feedback on your

performance. You may also gain help with

identifying competences and, because

they want you to succeed as much as youdo, the motivational support will be

immeasurable.

However, many people feel awkward

about asking for career or personal

development advice, especially if they do

not have their next move clearly in mind.

Asking the boss for advice can feel like a

high risk strategy – if he or she thinks you

are looking for a move, they may

undermine you or stop investing in you.

Usually such fears are unfounded.

If you have a formal appraisal, objective-

setting and/or development planning

system in place, then this should provide

the opportunity to find out if your

company has plans for you. Use this

valuable opportunity to share your goals

and ideas. If you are developing your skills,

you are likely to have more to offer your

present employer, and the evidence of

your planning and commitment will beseen as positive. Even if you see your next

opportunity outside the organisation,

having advance warning will help your

manager to plan for your succession.

If you still feel nervous about speaking to

your line manager, why not seek the

advice of your personnel manager

instead? They will understand how you

feel, and may be able to provide the

advice you need without ‘rocking the

boat’.

3) Sponsor/assessor

If you are working towards registration as

a Chartered Engineer, Incorporated

Engineer, or Engineering Technician, then

your Sponsor and Assessor will also be

valuable sources of help and support.

Those seeking registration as a Chartered

Physicist will have identified 2 supporters

who will, themselves, hold the designation

- or one of equivalent professional

standing.

Contact your own institution for

information on the requirements for your

chosen qualification and see Professional

Registration later in this guide.

4) Colleagues

Colleagues are a great source of

inspiration and ideas. Along with your

friends, they are also often the best source

of frank and honest feedback, and can

be a useful resource for information on

other areas of your business! If you are on

a development scheme and have

colleagues who are also on the scheme,

or have been through it in the past, they

will be able to guide and support you.

5) Friends & family

One of the reasons people often use for

not doing professional development is the

impact it will have on their home life.

Talking through your aims and ambitions

with your friends and family will help them

to understand why you need to spend

time on professional development

activities. Involving them in your planning

will elicit their support, and you will be able

to structure your learning to create a

balance in your life.

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6) Professional institutions

Never overlook your professional institution

as a source of help. They will have many

practical solutions to make your

professional development easier, from

guidance on how to do it, through to

learning and networking opportunities,

ideas for gaining financial and practical

help, sources of information and links with

training suppliers, mentors and advisors.

Asking for help and advice

The CRAC publication Straight Talking:

effective career discussions at work (2002)

reports that in the supporting survey, 55%

of respondents had good discussions with

managers in their employing organisation,

whilst 20% found external sources of

advice such as career or training events,

external advisers and psychologists,

helpful. 80% of discussions took place by

appointment, and 60% were initiated by

the person seeking advice. So you need to

take the initiative, but also give your

chosen adviser an opportunity to prepare

for the discussion. Make sure you are well-

prepared. Work through the professional

development cycle, so that you have an

idea of your current skills, those you would

like to develop, the type of work-based

activities which might contribute to that

development, and what you perceive asthe benefits to, and the opportunities

within, the organisation.

CRAC offers the following tips for receivers

of career support:

• Put yourself in the driving seat. Think

about who can help you address career

issues. Make sure you get the help you

need, by asking for it.

• Try to develop a relationship with your boss such that they will actively support

your career. If this is impossible, try to

keep your boss informed.

• If you want to raise a career issue in

appraisal, tell your appraiser

beforehand. Ask for a follow-up to the

appraisal meeting, if there are career

issues you could not discuss fully. Take

advantage of other types of career

support offered by your organisation.

• If you are planning a job move, start

raising the issue well in advance.

• If you want to talk to someone, ask for

an appointment and explain what you

want to discuss. Ask for at least half an

hour.• Prepare by thinking about your situation

and skills, and how they fit with the

business. Think about what you want to

discuss, and what you want from the

discussion.

• You should not reject advice or

feedback out of hand, fail to listen

attentively, or become aggressive or

defensive.

Seeking financial support

For many professionals considering further

education as a part of their professional

development financing it can be a major

hurdle. But a variety of schemes exist

specifically to deal with this problem.

1) From your employer

Many large employers are aware of the

value of training their staff to their best

potential and will pay for or part-fund

particular training schemes if they are

relevant to your job. Some enlightened

employers will even offer funding for

personal development which is not

directly job-related, although you may

have to pay tax on this as a benefit in

kind. It is well worth approaching your

Human Resources department about what

is available to you.

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If your employer has 50 or less employees

then they may be eligible for a Small Firms

Training Loan (SFTL). They can borrow as

little as £500 or as much as £125,000 at

lower than usual interest rates, depending

on their needs and the number of people

being trained. An SFTL is a commercial

bank loan offered in partnership between

the Department for Education and Skills

(DfES) and eight high street banks. You

can get an SFTL anywhere in Great Britain

by applying to one of the participating

banks which are: Barclays, Bank ofScotland, Clydesdale, The Co-operative,

HSBC, Lloyds TSB, NatWest and The Royal

Bank of Scotland.

2) Other sources

If you need to finance your training or

course yourself then you might consider

applying for a Career Development Loan

or one of a variety of bursaries and

awards. Career Development Loans were

launched by the DfES in 1988. Visit

www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/pdl for an

application and information pack.

Bursaries and awards exist and your

institution will be able to advise on those

that may be relevant to you. Remember

that some career development activities

may also qualify for tax relief.

Mentoring

‘A wise and trusted professional friend’

There is a general acceptance that most

people achieve better levels of

professional success if they have the

guidance and help of a mentor; someone

with whom they can discuss their career

plans, evaluate options andachievements, and work through issues.

We define a mentor as ‘a suitably

experienced person, who is willing and

able to act as a confidential helper and

guide to another professional, to stimulate

their development and make it more

effective’.

Many organisations have successfully

adopted mentoring in order to help

selected employees to develop more

effectively. If your employer does not have

a scheme, but you would like to benefit

from working with a mentor, your institution

may be able to put you in contact with

someone who can help. (Each partner within the PDP has their own advice and

support on mentoring, contact your own

institution for more details.)

Mentoring for professional development

Planned professional development is

essential for all practising professionals. The

responsibility for development must always

lie with the individual, but the active

support of a wise colleague, in the role of

a mentor, can be extremely helpful at

particular times, for example in the early

stages of a career or in times of change.

A mentor can help you to assess your

needs and establish a development plan.

Regular review meetings can then be

arranged to consider progress and review

learning. Knowing you have a forthcoming

meeting helps you to focus on achieving

targets! Your mentor will also give you theopportunity to try out, in confidence, a

range of ideas and methods of working

before having to make final decisions on

the way ahead.

Many professionals wish to focus

development on gaining professional

recognition. Part of achieving this is

satisfying a number of requirements laid

down by your institution. Obtaining help

and guidance from a senior colleague

who is knowledgeable about the

requirements and the level of

achievement expected is very strongly

recommended, and will prove to be a

tremendous help.

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Making mentoring work

Whatever your particular needs, the role

of the mentor should be clearly defined by

both parties at the start of the relationship.

The boundaries of the mentor’s

involvement and influence should be

agreed, and you will need to take into

account the interests of everyone

concerned, including your employer

(particularly if confidentiality is an issue).

You may want to define a time-span for the relationship. Experience shows that

effective mentoring partnerships usually

last for a relatively short time and you may

get help from different mentors at different

times of your career.

If you are provided with a mentor through

your employer then that is fine. However,

sometimes you may find someone from

outside more helpful. Your mentor does

not have to be in the same profession as

you, and at times you may have more

than one mentor.

The relationship between mentor and

‘mentee’ should be personal and

confidential. Your mentor should challenge

and support you, but should neither tell

you what to do nor provide assessments to

others. A good mentor will want to ensure

that you gain confidence and

independence as a result of mentoring,

and that you are enabled to take full andeffective responsibility for your own

development over the next career stage.

Long-term dependence on one influential

person is not helpful, although some

mentoring partnerships have led to lifelong

friendships.

The structure and frequency of meetings

can be decided between you. However, it

is good practice always to arrange a

subsequent date before the close of a

meeting to make sure that a regular

review of progress is maintained. It is also

helpful if the mentor can be available for

consultation earlier than planned if an

unexpected need arises.

Both members of the partnership should

find that they gain personal satisfaction

and experience personal growth during

the progress of a mentoring relationship. If

mentors approach the undertaking with

open minds they will find they learn from

the other person and recognise

development opportunities in their own

careers.

Benefits of mentoring

Mentees have found consistently that

mentoring has:

• Enhanced their training and career

development.

• Significantly influenced their attitudes

and professional outlook.

• Guided them round major procedural

obstacles and pitfalls.

• Improved their results by challenging

their assumptions.

Benefits frequently reported by mentors for

themselves include:

• Satisfaction from helping others and

seeing them progress.

• Deeper and broader knowledge of their

own and other organisations.

• Opportunity to practise and develop

management skills.

• Job enrichment and the chance to build

wider networks.• Increased self-confidence and higher

visibility within the company.

The benefits acknowledged by significant

numbers of organisations include:

• Faster, more effective induction.

• Retention of quality staff.

• Enhanced transfer of skills.

• Gains in productivity and the

performance of individuals.

• Increased on-job learning that reduces

off-job training costs.

• Better communication, commitment

and motivation.

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• A cost-effective method to enhance

staff development.

• A stabilising factor in times of change.

Best practice in mentoring

The mentor

The successful mentor is someone who:

• Volunteers time to take a personal

interest in others.

• Listens ‘actively’.

• Questions and finds out what is

important to others, exploring their skills,

aptitudes and aspirations.

• Challenges assumptions and acts as a

sounding board.

• Creates an open and candid

relationship, to encourage the growth of

trust and confidence, which assists the

learning process.

• Regards all that the mentee says asconfidential.

• Helps someone less experienced to learn

by allowing minor errors, but will

endeavour to prevent them making

major errors.

• Avoids mentoring those in a direct

reporting line, and may influence, but

does not ‘step on the toes’ of, other line

managers.

• Brings a rigorously professional approach

to the mentoring relationship.

• Uses imagination to overcome own

limitations as well as those of the mentee.

• Recognises when the mentee should be

identifying a need for other sources of

help (such as from an institution).

• Has appropriate training and experience

for the role.

• Gains significant personal and career

development from mentoring.

The person being mentored (the mentee)

The success of a mentoring relationship

depends also on the attitude and

commitment of the individual being

mentored. He or she should:

• Understand that the role of the mentor is

to challenge and encourage but not to

provide answers.

• Guard against becoming dependent on

the mentor.

• Approach each meeting fully prepared.

The mentoring relationship

Relationships which start with a clear

‘learning contract’ are generally the most

rewarding. In good relationships:

• Conflicts of interest must be avoided, so

it is usually considered inappropriate for

a mentoring relationship to exist

between manager and subordinate, or

close colleagues.

• It is important that ground-rules are

established at the beginning of the

relationship, to avoid misunderstanding

later on. These may include the timings

and format of meetings, the expected

length of the commitment and methods

of communications.

• Responsibilities and expected outcomes

may be discussed at an early stage. For

instance, it is important to state any

specific results the mentee hopes to

gain from the relationship, and what the

measures will be for these.

Company mentoring schemes

Mentors can operate independently in all

types and sizes of organisation, but

company schemes are found to be more

effective if they:

• Have the support of top management.

• Use carefully selected volunteers, who

are well-matched to the employees

being mentored.

• Start within a limited pilot mentoring

programme, which can be extended as

it becomes established.

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• Operate as part of a wider scheme,

which is unobtrusively monitored.

• Are supported by an able co-ordinator,

usually a manager or Human Resources

professional, who maintains the

programme and ensures that its

standard (and thus its reputation)

remains high.

• Take care to distinguish between the

roles of line managers and mentors, to

avoid conflicts between concern for

task completion and the mentee’s

training and development needs.

3

Doing/3.11



Keeping records

Really it is up to you how you record your

learning and development. You need to

keep records of what you have done, but

it is even more useful to actually record

what you have learned. The process of

committing learning to paper or computer

helps you to organise your thoughts and

experiences, so you can build on them. It

also will aid your recall process by

transferring the experience from short-term

to long-term memory. This is probablysomething that you are already familiar

with from your days in formal education

and it continues to be a powerful aid to

learning in adult life.

Here we explore some issues you might like

to consider when deciding how to keep

your records. If you wish to try these, some

of the forms are available in this guide for

you to try, and you may adapt them if you

wish. However, if you have a different idea

that works for you, then you should follow

that.

Learning logs

Learning logs are an extremely useful way

to enhance reflective learning. It is

important to recognise from the outset that

the purpose of the log is to enhance

learning and that the primary user of the log

is the writer. Keeping such a log generally

feels like a chore. It is not until the writer is in

a position to look back on the record that its

value can be appreciated. Thus people

tend not to keep one unless they are

required to do so. But when the activity is

made compulsory, all too often the

emphasis shifts and people start writing the

log ‘for their supervisor’ and some of the

benefit is lost.

Keeping a learning log is not compulsoryfor people working towards registration,

but many people find that it helps to

consolidate learning. If you keep one, you

should aim to record:

• What you have done.

• When you did it.

• What you learned.

• How you will be able to apply it.

• What follow-up activities you feel might

be useful.

Do not limit your records to formal events.

Try to capture all your learning including

any small day-to-day experiences. The

process of capturing learning in this way

will greatly enhance your achievements/

learning.

Remember to keep focused on the areas

that you wish to develop and link each

learning experience to those areas. This

will later enable you to reflect on your

learning over the period of a few months

to see how far you have progressed.

Additionally, do not forget to record those

learning experiences that do not directly

relate to those identified competence

areas – they are of value too and may be

linked up later on!

Evidence portfolios

If you are using competences you will find

yourself needing to keep a record of

‘evidence’ of your competence. The body

of your original evidence will form a

portfolio which you will keep in order to

produce evidence to prove competenceif you are required to in the future (this

may be for Quality Assurance Audit

purposes or for professional registration/

qualification). This evidence should be

kept in a structured way so that it can be

easily referenced and located when

necessary by your company or by your

institution. Diaries, logbooks, etc. will

normally become part of the evidence

that you maintain within your portfolio.

Portfolios are discussed in greater depth

later in this section, see page 4.3.

4Recording

Recording/4.1



Employer systems

Many employers have their own

paperwork systems to help employees

keep records of the training and

development that they have undertaken.

These range from staff reports written after

formal appraisal meetings to a note in a

personnel file about a course attended.

Many employers also keep written

development action plans for each

employee and maintain notes of progress.

All records are useful and it is important

not to duplicate paperwork and the effort

of writing things up, but it is also important

for individuals to make sure that they are

accumulating sufficient evidence

themselves. It will almost certainly be

necessary to keep some records and

evidence of work undertaken, additional

to those kept by the employer in order to

capture informal, work-based learning.

Professional body systems

Different institutions may have slightly

different requirements, particularly for

records to be submitted as part of an

application for registration. It is important

that you check with your own institution

before you start.

Format of records

One important point to consider when

deciding how to keep your records is who

the ‘audience’ will be. If you are doing

professional development ‘on your own’,

without input from your employer and not

working towards a qualification of any

kind, then it is unlikely that anyone but you

will see them. Therefore you needn’t worry

about their format, neatness or presentation.

However, if it is possible that you will want

to show your records to your employer,

your institution, or even to clients, then you

should try to take into account their needs.

Will they want to see all your records, or just

a summary? In what terms will they expect

to see the information presented; are they

interested in your learning, your abilities, or

seeing progress? Adapt your forms and

keep updated indexes, and be sure to

keep any evidence carefully, so that your

records give a good impression and show

that you consider the information they

represent as important.

Keeping records up-to-date

We all put ‘administrative’ tasks to one

side thinking that we will ‘do it later’; our

record keeping is no different. We also

know that later never comes! It is

important that you keep your records

updated regularly, particularly so if you

are keeping detailed records. This is even

more important if you are trying to apply

your learning for improved performance

as you will need to reflect upon your

learning, and this becomes more difficult

the longer you leave it.

Try to keep notes of informal learning that

happens during your everyday work –

perhaps in a logbook or diary, or directly

into your records. After more formal

events, such as a training course, you may

wish to discuss your learning with your

manager or mentor, and this is a good

time to update your records.

Creating retrospective records

Creating retrospective records is difficult,

but can be done if necessary. Look out

old certificates or course notes, and ask

Human Resources if you can look through

your personnel file for key points. Produce

a chronological record of key learning

events, including job changes or

promotions, and think back to recall the

significant learning that occurred. An

exercise like this can produce more than

you might think, and will form a good basis

for future records.

4

Recording/4.2



Records fit for purpose

How you keep your records may change

over time. You may keep very detailed

and formal records at the beginning of

your career, perhaps because you are on

an employer’s scheme or to meet

institution requirements. Later in your

career you may only keep very informal

records, just for your own use.

Be prepared to change the way you

record your development to suit your current circumstances, and do not

slavishly keep to a formal system if you

really do not need to. However, having a

portfolio of ‘substantial’ evidence that you

can refer back to can be enormously

beneficial. Substantial evidence can be

used as irrefutable proof of your abilities.

Keeping evidence of this type can be a

useful habit to get into.

Building a portfolio ofevidence

We are always telling people what we can

do. In dealings with our colleagues, in job

applications and during everyday

conversations we quantify our skills,

knowledge and experience to reassure

those around us. We also use it as a way

of expressing who we are. Never is this

more critical than when we are at work,

where it is vital to gain the respect andtrust of our peers, management and

clients.

Sadly it is no longer enough to just say that

you are able to do a job. More and more

employers and customers are asking for

proof of our abilities. When changing

employer we are increasingly asked to

complete psychometric tests and

practical exercises as a measure of our

skills. But the current trend is to seek ‘real’evidence of competence. This is

particularly applicable to people who

move roles within their organisation, or for

young professionals moving up the career

ladder; but whatever your circumstances

you may well find yourself needing to work

with competences at some point in the

future.

Whether your introduction to the world of

competences comes from your employer,

or through an individual desire, you will

need to prepare and maintain a portfolio

of evidence. Here we try to help you

through the task of starting your portfolio,

and give advice on the continuous

process of maintaining it.

Whether you are working towards

professional recognition through your

institution, trying to follow a company

scheme, or acting as a consultant tasked

with providing evidence of competence

for clients, creating a portfolio of evidence

can be approached in the same way.

Identifying evidence

When searching for evidence, ask yourself

‘What could I show someone to convince

them that I am able to do this task?’ Put

yourself in an assessor’s shoes and

consider what it would take to convince

you under the same circumstances.

If you are undertaking a formal training

course, or academic studies, your

achievements in these will give

demonstrable proof of attainment.However, in many instances you will be

improving your performance in your daily

work with no externally provided proof or

assessment of your activities and

achievements. In those circumstances you

should try to identify and keep evidence

of work completed satisfactorily that is a

testimony to your skills.

4

Recording/4.3



Evidence may take many different forms,

including:

• Business/project plans.

• Proposals or reviews.

• Presentations to clients or at

conferences.

• Specifications.

• Designs.

• Programmes.

• Internal memos.

• Letters, reports.

• Minutes of meetings (which demonstrateyour contribution).

• Employer assessments for pay and/or

promotion reviews.

• Testaments from others witnessing your

attainments.

Whatever form your evidence takes,

consider how it can be verified as your

own work. Obviously for documentation

(such as reports or papers) written under

your own name this is not necessary.

However, for items where the author is not

obvious, you should try to obtain a

verifying signature from an appropriate

person, to confirm that it is an accurate

record of the activity and that it is your

work. Often this will be your line manager,

supervisor or project leader. The signature

could be on the document/item itself or, if

that is not appropriate, you could use an

Evidence Summary Record or your

company’s equivalent (see our sample

forms on pages 4.9-17, for an example).Where you are using evidence which is

from a joint project, you might like to detail

which parts of the work were your

responsibility and what specific actions

you took.

There may also be times when your

evidence includes an un-assessable,

individual experience such as a

conversation. It is in this situation that

discussion with your manager or mentor

will help you analyse what you have

gained from the experience and they may

then be able to testify to your experience.

Finally, when considering what constitutes

evidence for a particular competence,

pay close attention to the level at which

you perform. This is particularly important

when you are trying to demonstrate a

mature and professional approach. Many

tasks can be performed at more than one

level. For example, you might be able to

perform tests on a piece of equipment as

a trainee (whilst being supervised) or as an

expert (being more able to assess the

results and have an understanding of

which tests are required for particular equipment). Clearly these are very

different levels of competence, and your

evidence should reflect the level at which

you are working.

Collecting and storing evidence

In many cases evidence will be paper-

based and can be stored in a folder. As

your collection grows it will be important to

keep a record of what you hold and

where it is located in your folder. Split your

evidence into logical sections, such as

competence or functional areas, and

keep an overall index. You may also like to

use a cross-referencing grid or matrix that

will help you relate particular pieces of

evidence to the appropriate

competences. These can then be used as

a quick reference guide, to help you

review or, should you wish, to extract a

particular piece of evidence from your folder.

Gathering evidence may not be easy to

start with, as you will need to get used to

spotting possible sources. Also, you will

probably have a ‘backlog’ of

competences for which to gather

evidence, which might be a little daunting

at first. However, as you get used to the

concept of evidence (and competences

in general) you will find yourself thinking in

terms of the results of your work as being

evidence, and it will soon become second

nature. Once you have located evidence

for all the achieved competence areas,

4

Recording/4.4



you need only maintain your portfolio

through regular housekeeping, and add

pieces as you acquire new competences

or improve upon your past achievements.

When you first start your folder, you may

like to insert a copy of your current CV

and it might also be useful to include your

competence framework, copies of

appraisals or any assessments you have

done. It is also a good idea to have a list

of your assessors somewhere in your

portfolio: you can then refer back to this,particularly if you move job or company,

should you ever need to contact them.

It is not necessary to store all evidence

within the portfolio. Small items of

evidence such as photographs, witness

statements, certificates and short notes

can easily be stored in a binder. However,

larger pieces of evidence (such as project

reports, presentations, produced items,

etc.) and also items of a confidential

nature, can not be removed from the

workplace. Their whereabouts can be

noted in the index, and a summary of their

contents (or a general description of the

item) placed in the portfolio. In such cases

your manager or assessor may sign the

index or description, as it is not possible for

them to sign the item itself.

Core evidence

Your portfolio should contain some key

documents such as your CV, current job

description and person specification and

your Development Action Plan. You may

also want to keep copies of key

certificates such as your main higher

academic qualification and any

postgraduate studies. Most of these

documents will need to be updated

periodically, so remember to date them.

Shelf life

Evidence only stays ‘fresh’ for a certain

amount of time. This is for two reasons:

1) Although you have the proven ability

to perform a particular task at a

specified point in the past, we all forget

knowledge, and lose our abilities and

skills, with time. Therefore, evidence

that we were competent to do

something in the past, is not evidence

that we can do it now.

2) As time goes by our abilities change,

not just in respect of knowledge and

skills, but also in attitude and the

manner in which we perform tasks.

Usually this path is one of increasing

ability and responsibility, therefore you

may need to keep updating your

evidence as it increases in quality. For

example, your first ever written report

may have been perfectly adequate to

prove your ability to write a report:

however, as time goes by and your skill

increases, you will want to give a better

example, showing how accomplished

you are now.

There are various ideas on how long

evidence life span is, but different time-

scales will apply to different types of

evidence and under different

circumstances. For example, the ability to

communicate effectively (either verbally,in written form or giving presentations) will

stay with you for some considerable time,

and probably won’t need updating very

often. However, if you were to claim

competence in creating websites or some

other field of I.T., it is unlikely that, without

updating yourself on the latest tools and

techniques, you could still claim to be

competent two years later.

4

Recording/4.5



In general terms a period of two years is

often quoted, but you will need to use

your judgement on this. In any case, for

most of your role you will be performing

tasks that are repeated regularly: not only

will this provide a ready source of renewed

evidence, it will also reflect your ever-

increasing level of proficiency.

Housekeeping

Obviously, if evidence has to be refreshedregularly you will need to undertake

regular housekeeping to examine your

portfolio and, where appropriate, replace

outdated items with fresh examples. This

will require some effort as you will need to

update your cross-referencing and

indexing systems too, but is a necessary

part of ensuring the portfolio is kept

current and thereby retains its value.

Validation

It is important that your evidence ‘carries

weight’. To do this it not only needs to be

sufficient and appropriate, but it also

needs to have a ‘stamp of authority’.

Having your evidence signed off as a true

and accurate record of your ability and

achievements, preferably by someone

who is seen as having the status to judge

this, is a vital part of preparing your

portfolio. Make sure you always keep a listof the people who have signed off

evidence for you, with contact details and

job titles where possible.

Confidentiality

For some people, such as those working in

secure environments, gathering evidence

can be difficult. No institution or employer

will expect you to breach security in order

to provide evidence. In most cases where

it is necessary to inspect evidence

arrangements will be made to ensure that

security is not compromised. You should

consult with your own institution if you

suspect that this applies in your case.

In instances where it would be unwise to

keep evidence of specific projects in your

folder, you may still add the item to your

index, making a note of what the item is,

where it may be found and which

competence it refers to. Where evidence

cannot be placed in the folder you may

use a summary sheet or note to summarise

your competence: your manager/mentor

can then sign this off. This will applyequally well to items that are large, or

difficult to handle and store (such as

actual pieces of completed work).

Selecting and presenting evidence

Your portfolio will be a working document

and, while you are compiling it, the folder

will be seen mainly by yourself, so

appearance is not initially important.

However, if you find yourself needing to

show your portfolio to someone else you

will need to ensure that:

• Only relevant, up-to-date information

has been included.

• All evidence is clearly indexed.

• Evidence can be located without delay.

• The overall appearance of the folder is

professional and well organised, with no

loose sheets of paper.

In order that you don’t get caught out by

a sudden need to show your portfolio, it is

advisable to carry out regular

housekeeping exercises (see Shelf life

above). During these you can ensure that

each piece of evidence is still relevant

and easily accessible.

Creating your index

It is important that your records are

indexed. This will allow you to arrange your

records in a logical way, to quickly access

information when you need to, and will

4

Recording/4.6



help you when keeping your records up-

to-date. Initially you may find it easy just to

keep a simple list of the items you have,

and maybe organise them into sections

according to subject. However, as time

passes and you have larger or more

detailed records you may find you need

to develop a more complex indexing

system.

Using a cross-referencing system or matrix

To make tracking of the evidence you

have stored easier, a cross-referencing

system may be used. The principle is to be

able to quickly determine which pieces of

evidence relate to which competences,

thus helping you establish which you have

met, and which still demand further items

of evidence.

When compiling a portfolio, some people

like to file their evidence according to the

competence it relates to. However, as one

piece of evidence may go towards

satisfying the criteria for more than one

competence statement, it is not always

possible to do this. You may therefore

need a matrix, detailing each piece of

evidence, which will be in addition to, and

separate from, your index. You will then be

able to use either route to search/review

your evidence, depending on your needs.

There are many ways in which matricescan be tackled and you should devise a

system that meets your own requirements

and which you can easily follow, but our

Competence Record form may help you

to get started.

4

Recording/4.7



Forms for recording your

professional development

There are no rigid rules about how you

record your professional development. It is

important that you develop a system that

is simple and easy to use, so that you

continue to follow it, whilst ensuring that it

meets any other needs, such as those of

your employer.

Here we give you a few examples of formsthat you can use if you wish. There are

worked examples to show you how they

could be used, and blank forms for your

own use. Please feel free to make

photocopies, and you may adapt them to

fit your own circumstances if you would like.

Copies are also available to download

from the website at www.PD-How2.org.

Development action plan (DAP)*

Use the DAP to record your goals and the

actions you plan to undertake during your

next development period. There is space

for you to record your progress, and you

may also cross-reference your plan to

competences.

Development activity record

This useful form will help you recordinformal learning, as well as giving you a

framework for reflecting on formal learning

activities. It will help you formulate how

you will apply your learning for improved

performance.

Competence record*

Cross-referencing your evidence to your

competence framework will help you

identify any skills gaps, and will ensure you

can easily find evidence for specific

competences when you need to.

Evidence summary record*

This simple form will help you easily and

quickly locate a piece of evidence in your

portfolio.

*You will find these forms particularly useful

if you are working towards a professional

qualification.

4

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E X A M

P L E

4

Recording/4.9

DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN

Name: .................................................................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................

Section 1 Achievements since last Development Action Plan Competence

(including report on actions agreed then) Reference

(1) Attachment arranged with motor manufacturer – one week in all departments B2

– report produced and suggestions made for improving return procedures

(2) Has commenced a Visual Basic course at local College – duration 1 year evenings. A1

Appropriate project to be arranged to use programming learnt

(3) Has become a valuable member of the controls team and has taken responsibility B3, C2, D1

for 2 changes to the products for important customers.

(4) Was sent as part of company team to Spring Exhibition at Hanover – D2

performed well in company presentations

I am confident he met the agreed actions from the last plan and in March a full PRP review for the department was carried out with

Alan (see PRP file)

Candidate: ....................................................................................................... Line Manager/HR: ......................................................................................

Date: ...................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................................................................

Section 2 Development Actions agreed for next DAP period Competence

(Capture any individual career plans and development activities agreed Reference

with line manager or human resources department.) Specify action,

competence areas targeted and timescales.

• Alan needs to start using his Visual Basic Training and discussions will be held A1, A2

with the head of Software products to set something up – meeting 23 April

• We feel he needs more commercial awareness and a discussion has been set up with C2, D3

HR to arrange a suitable attachment for a period (probably of not less than 8 weeks)

• To attend the H & S course on emissions – HR note E3

• Alan is beginning to develop a real interest in management and shows good potential C3, D3

– we should be looking for line management or supervisory experience within the next

18 months or so

Next Review is set for 31 Sept 2003 – Alan to arrange details

Plan Agreed

Candidate: ....................................................................................................... Line Manager: ..............................................................................................

Development action plan (DAP)

The period covered by your development action plan (DAP) may vary. Any period from

about two months (e.g. a specific secondment) to two years is likely to be appropriate.

If your employer has its own professional/career development system, then it is better

to use this either in place of, or complementary to, your DAP.

Points to note:

• Section 1 refers to previous DAP and goes

on to list the key achievements to dategiving a basis for further development.

• Section 2 will be more effective if an

outcome is specified in objective terms

for each development action (i.e. what to

be able to do, by when, to what standard).

• Refer to other departments (e.g. Human

Resources) to ensure they are fully

informed and don’t forget to keep any

mentor/advisor aware of all outcomes.• This example has been written by a

manager, in discussion with the

individual. See overleaf for an example

written by the individual themselves.



4

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E X A M

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Name: .................................................................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................



– Joined the K23 team, which has enabled me to familiarise myself A1

with the products for the car industry

– Started working with my mentor, and found the feedback really useful. D2

It helps me to have my assumptions challenged.

– Time management course – this really helped me understand how I work C2

and I am better at meeting deadlines now.


Date: ...................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................................................................





– Continue working with the K23 team, and try to take more A1, A2

active role. Aim to be able to handle the next car industry assignment B3, C1

when it comes up in April. (Review with supervisor due in March) D1

– Secondment available to Business Group in January, which would increase C2, C3

my commercial awareness

– Continue with mentor, having meetings once per month

to keep pace of progress

Plan Agreed


Jaquie Jones 19/10/01

28/10/01

J Jones S Smith

28/10/01

J Jones S Smith

Development action plan (DAP)



4

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E X A M

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Development Activity Record

DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY RECORD

Subject: ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Date: Type of Activity: Title and Provider:

15/08/02 Presentation N/A

Summary of what was covered and/or what was learned:

Presentation to project team on solution to power supply problem on 2945. I was given 5 minutes to report on the findings from my

fault analysis and propose solutions. I had prepared 3 slides and written notes. The presentation went relatively well, and the notes

really helped this time, but I couldn’t answer some of the questions.

I should have researched my audience in order to anticipate their interest.

Possible application(s) of what was learned:

For my next presentation to the team (in September) I will ensure that I do thorough research, and the project manager has agreed to

spend time with me beforehand to talk through any issues.

Possible area(s) of impact on career opportunities if any:

I will be doing presentations on a regular basis in my next role, and will need to polish my technique before then.

Other possible Development Activity(s) suggested by this activity:

None.

If appropriate, Employer or Verifier’s signature: If appropriate, any Employer or Verifier’s comments:

David did well in this task, and his determination to

D Banks improve will ensure he continues to succeed.

Date: 17/08/02

Communication Skills



E X A M P

L E

4

Recording/4.12

Competence Record

C O M P E T E N C E R E C O R D - E

X A M P L E

C O M P E T E N C E &

C O M M I T M E N T S T A N D A R D

B : “ A P P L I C A T I O N T O

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n d p r a c t i c a l m e t h o d s t o t h e a n a l y s i s a n d s o l u t i o n o f e n g i n e e r i n g p r o b l e m s .

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3

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A s s e s s o r C o m m e n t s :

B 1 *

I d e n t i f y p o t e n t i a l

p r o j e c t s &

o p p o r t u n i t i e s

B 2

R e s e a r c h , d e s i g n

a n d d e v e l o p m e n t

o f e n g i n e e r i n g

s o l u t i o n s

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I m p l e m e n t d e s i g n

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A s s e s s o r

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& D a t e

O t h e r

c o m p e t e n c e s

t h i s e v i d e n c e

c o n t r i b u t e s t o



E X A M P

L E

4

Recording/4.13

Evidence Summary Record

E V I D E N C E S U M M A R Y R E

C O R D

T r a i n i n g / D e v

e l o p m e n t P e r i o d ( e . g .

i n d u c t i o n , a

t t a c h m e n t e t c . ) : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E v i d e n c e

S t a r t / f i n i s h

A c t i v i t y a n d b r i e f d e

s c r i p t i o n ( + v e r i f y i n g s i g n a t u r e

T y p e /

N o t e s ( o r c

o m p e t e n c e /

R e f .

d a t e

o f l i n e m a n a g e r / s u p

e r v i s o r f o r t h i s a c t i v i t y )

w h e r e l o c a t e d

c o m m i t m e

n t r e f e r e n c e )

1 2 / 2

J a n ’ 9 9 -

M a y ’

9 9

1 2 / 3

M a y ’ 9 9

1 2 / 4

J u n e –

S e p t ’ 9 9

1 2 / 5

1 3 - 1 4 J u n e

’ 9 9

N o r t h S e a D r i l l i n g R i g C o m m u

n i c a t i o n s p r o j e c t – t o d e s i g n , s p e c i f y , p r o j e c t

m a n a g e , i n s t a l l a n d c o m m i s s i o n

t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e q u i p m e n t f o r d a t a a n d

v o i c e / s a t e l l i t e a n d m i c r o w a v e l i n k s f o r t h e r i g . A w i d e r a n g e o f e v i d e n c e

a v a i l a b l e i n t h e p r o j e c t f i l e – r e p o r t s , r e v i e w s , m i n u t e s e t c .

C + + c o u r s e – i n t e n s i v e C + + c o u r s e a t A B C o m p u t e r T r a i n i n g . C + + i d e n t i f i e d

w i t h i n a f u t u r e p r o j e c t a n d t h i s c o u r s e t o o k m e t o a l e v e l o f p r a c t i t i o n e r r e a d y t o

c o n t r i b u t e t o n e w p r o j e c t . S u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t e d p r o g r a m m e a t e n d o f c o u r s e

T h a i l a n d s e a g a s a n d d r i l l i n g r i g c o m m u n i c a t i o n s p r o j e c t – t o d e s i g n , s p e c i f y ,

p r o j e c t m a n a g e , i n s t a l l a n d c o m

m i s s i o n t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e q u i p m e n t f o r d a t a

a n d v o i c e / s a t e l l i t e a n d m i c r o w a

v e l i n k s f o r t h e r i g . T h i s p r o j e c t i n c l u d e d a

p r o g r a m f o r t h e f r o n t e n d u s e r s

o f t h e s y s t e m o n t h e r i g w h i c h w a s w r i t t e n b y

m e i n C + + . A w i d e r a n g e o f e v i d e n c e a v a i l a b l e i n t h e p r o j e c t f i l e – r e p o r t s ,

r e v i e w s , m i n u t e s e t c .

H e l i c o p t e r t r a i n i n g a t A B C o A b e r d e e n – t r a i n i n g f o r s a f e t y i n h e l i c o p t e r s a n d

t h e i r u s e o n r i g s i n u n d e r s e a o i l f i e l d s – 2 d a y s .

P r o j e c t f i l e a t A b e r d e e n o f f i c e

o f X Y Z O i l C o .

C e r t i f i c a t e i n p o r t f o l i o +

s a m p l e p r o g r a m a n d c o u r s e

n o t e s i n o f f i c e f i l e a t X Y Z O i l

P r o j e c t f i l e a t A b e r d e e n o f f i c e

o f X Y Z O i l C o . a n d D A P

C e r t i f i c a t e a n d n o t e s – n o w

a l l o w e d t o c a r r y o u t s u r v e y s

S u c c e s s f u l p o s t p r o j e c t r e v i e w , d i s c u s s e d a n d r e c o r d e d

i n t h e P e r f o r m a n

c e R e v i e w i n J a n 2 0 0 0 , s e e D A P f i l e

T r a i n i n g n e e d i d

e n t i f i e d i n P r o j e c t R e v i e w a n d

d i s c u s s e d a t P R P

a n d b u i l t i n t o t r a i n i n g a n d

d e v e l o p m e n t p l a

n s . S e e n e x t p r o j e c t

S e e P R P



Recording/4.15


Name: .................................................................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................




Date: ...................................................................................................................... Date: ....................................................................................................................





Plan Agreed




DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY RECORD

Subject: ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Date: Type of Activity: Title and Provider:

Summary of what was covered and/or what was learned:

Possible application(s) of what was learned:

Possible area(s) of impact on career opportunities if any:

Other possible Development Activity(s) suggested by this activity:

If appropriate, Employer or Verifier’s signature: If appropriate, any Employer or Verifier’s comments:

Date:



Recording/4.19

C O M P E T E N C E R E C O R D

C o m p e t e n c e & C o m m i t m e n t S t a n d a r d s f

o r : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

( C o m p e t e n c e s )

E v i d e n c e

D e s c r i p t i o n o f T a s k

C o m p e t e n c e S t a

t e m e n t s

A s s e s s o r

R e f .

A p p r o v a l

& D a t e

A s s e s s o r C o m m

e n t s :



E V I D E N C E S

U M M A R Y R E C O R D

T r a i n i n g / D e v e l o p m e n t P e r i o d ( e . g .

i n d u c t i o n , a t t a c h m e n t e t c . ) : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E v i d e n c e

S t

a r t / f i n i s h

A c t i v i t y a n d b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n ( + v e r i f y i n g s

i g n a t u r e

T y p e /

N o t e s ( o r c o m p e t e n c e /

R e f .

d a t e

o f l i n e m a n a g e

r / s u p e r v i s o r f o r t h i s a c t i v i t y )

w h e r e l o c a t e d

c o m m i t m e n t r e f e r e n c e )



Review is the start and

the finish!

Most projects and plans start with a

thorough review of the current situation:

professional development is no exception.

The review stage appears at the

beginning and the end of the Professional

Development Cycle because you need to

be aware of where you are before you

start, and because it is important to check

regularly where you are in order to keepgoing in the right direction. It is a critical

part of the process, and deserves serious

time and effort.

This is the same type of thinking process

that you would probably employ in

preparation for your appraisal at work or

for a job interview, i.e. considering your

strengths, your weaknesses and any future

opportunities or threats.

Reflective learning

The most important aspect of reviewing

your learning is thinking about what you

have learned. This reflection – on what

happened, what you understood from the

experience, the new knowledge and skills

you have gained, and how these will

contribute to your improved future

performance – is where we gain real

benefit from our learning experiences.

Only once we have gone through this

process, is the information in a form that

we can readily store away (both in our

minds and our records), and that we can

recall for future use.

Even if you are not planning a ‘formal’

review just yet, taking regular time out to

reflect on your learning is important.

Reflection will help you formulate your

experiences in such a way that they canbe recorded easily; and it is important that

this is done regularly, so that you don’t

forget the details. Once recorded, you may

keep your notes for a more formal review.

Frequency of review

Obviously you will need to do a thorough

review of your current position before you

can possibly begin to plan to make

changes. Equally, once you have started,

your development must be reviewed

regularly. This will:

• Demonstrate achievements against your

original targets.

• Ensure you are still progressing in the

right direction.• Allow you to focus and define your

learning for the next period.

• Give you an opportunity to review your

long-term goals, taking account of any

changes in your circumstances.

It is at these times that you should re-

evaluate your targets and make any

necessary modifications to your plans.

How frequently a review should be carried

out and the date this should be done will

depend on a number of factors and may

be very personal. When setting a review

date you must consider whether your

objectives are short-, medium- or long-

term.

Clearly, the frequency must depend on

the time-frame envisaged. It would be

pointless to review a set of very short-term

objectives only annually, while there can

be more flexibility about longer-term ones.

You may find it useful to carry out some

sort of review every month to see whether

you have met your short-term objectives

and are on course for the longer-term

ones so that any corrective actions can

be considered. One year should be

considered the maximum period for an in-

depth review. Much will depend on the

rapidity with which your work and

responsibilities are changing, and the

range of competences you aredeveloping at any one time.

5Reviewing

Reviewing/5.1



• Short-term plan – review the individual

targets that you set, and remove them

or transfer them onto your next plan as

appropriate. Add new goals from your

appraisals or medium-term plan, to build

your targets for the next period. This

review should be regular – say every two

to six months.

• Medium-term plan – review progress

against medium-term goals. These goals

may be broken down into sections, and it

may be possible to tick off some of these.Amend your plan to include any new

ideas that may have arisen. This plan

should be reviewed at least every year.

• Long-term plan – check that this plan is

still realistic, and add/remove/change

any items as necessary. It is likely that this

plan won’t change dramatically, but

should still be reviewed annually.

There may be other times in your life when

it will be particularly important to review

your professional development.

1) External changes, constraints and

opportunities

Do carry out a review at any points of

change, e.g. changes of responsibility,

location or employer. Not only do you need

to account for the changes themselves in

the development plans, probably addingand subtracting topics at the detailed level,

but you must also take account of the

broader effects on your career aims and

directions, not forgetting the implications for

your personal objectives.

You may like to think of the regular review

and updating of your CV as part of this

process. Any change of circumstances –

or consideration of other job opportunities

– should trigger a review of your CV and, if

nothing else, will act as a quasi-review

process.

2) Appraisal

It is convenient to plan for a review to

coincide with formal (annual or half-

yearly) appraisals. This not only meets your

employer’s planning cycle, but allows you

to be fully prepared to derive value from

the exercise, to take on board any

suggestions for change and to incorporate

these rapidly into your plans.

3) Professional registration

Your professional development may be

directly linked to gaining professional

registration. If this is the case, then many of

your goals will be linked to the specific

competences required to achieve that.

Once you have attained your goal, you

will need to conduct a thorough review

and set new goals. Remember though,

that membership of your institution may

include an obligation to maintain your

competence and, if so, you will need to

ensure that your new plans and future

reviews take account of this.

4) Shelf life of learning/evidence

If you are working towards professional

registration, or other competence-based

qualifications, you will need to set regular

dates to review your portfolio of evidence.

Your competence, and the evidence thatproves it, only has a limited life. It follows

that you will need to keep ensuring that

your portfolio is up-to-date.

5

Reviewing/5.2



Starting your review

Start by taking a metaphorical step back

and taking a good look at where you are.

It may help to ask yourself some questions,

and to give yourself some honest and

considered answers. Some of the

questions you might ask yourself are:

• How far have I gone towards achieving

the targets I set myself?

• What improvements have I realised

through my activities?• How can I use my new knowledge and

skill?

• Have my long-term plans been

affected?

• Do I need to make any changes or

modifications?

• What trends have emerged that might

affect my plans?

Tracking progress

Look back at your development action

plan, or your last appraisal, and see how

many of the targets you have achieved. If

you have completed a task fully, then

remove it from your plan. (You may like to

keep a note of it, though – perhaps in a

‘completed development’ log – so that

you can look back and see your progress

over time.) If you have only partlycompleted a task, you might like to

update your plan with a re-phrased goal

to reflect the parts still to be done.

If you are failing to achieve your goals, ask

yourself why? Is it because your goals were

too big, or unrealistic? Or have other

circumstances taken over? If this is the

case, re-evaluate and reset your goals in

such a way that you will be able to

achieve them over the next period.

Evaluating your approach

Consider how you have reached your

achievements. Did you take a planned

approach or was it more opportunistic?

Has your approach helped or hindered

the achievement of your goals? It may be

that you need to change the way you

tackle your professional development in

order to achieve more, or to meet

particular targets.

Sources of help

Your manager or mentor will be ideally

placed to help you review. This is

particularly so if you are using your work

appraisal to set your targets. However, if

you are adopting a more informal or

personal approach, you might like to talk

to your colleagues for their feedback on

how you are improving (or with ideas for

the future). Friends and family can also

provide a valuable input to your reviews.

Measuring progress

Measuring progress can seem difficult,

particularly in these days when individual

employees do very different jobs, even

within the same department. This can

mean that there are no obvious

benchmarks against which you can

compare yourself.

One place to start is your development

action plan. You can simply measure

progress by looking at the number of goals

you have achieved. If, however, you want

to measure your current ability against

external standards, you will need to

identify those standards.

5

Reviewing/5.3



Another way to measure your progress is

through assessment. This can be formal,

through examination or peer review, or

informal, when you assess yourself against

specific measurements. Formal

assessments might take the form of

gaining a qualification through

examination by an external body, or

testing, such as psychometrics or skills and

knowledge tests.

Peer review, whilst obviously not as

objective as an examination, can be atwo-way process, giving you valuable

feedback, and guidance. You might ask

for a formal review with your manager,

mentor, or personnel department.

Many people find self-assessment the most

difficult way to measure progress. We all

find it difficult to assess ourselves,

particularly when we don’t have good

examples against which to compare.

However, if you have chosen appropriate

standards, and you are fair and objective

in your measurement, you may find this a

very enlightening exercise. Ask a friend,

colleague or your manager/mentor, to

verify your assessment if you wish.

Sharing learning

Learning is a very individual thing. This is

demonstrated by the fact that different

people will gain widely differing things

from the same learning event. This is fine

when we are aiming to improve our

personal competence, and it will

contribute to the intellectual ‘wealth’ of

our organisation.

However, organisations really gain when

people share their knowledge, and this is

an important contributor to business

success. As an example, when one projectteam learns a new technique which adds

to their performance, they are able to use

it to increase their performance on the

next project. However, if they are to share

that learning, every project team in the

organisation will improve next time.

Organisations have adopted many ways

of helping their employees to share

learning, from intranet-based forums,

through to action learning groups.

Adopting a matrix organisation for project

teams is another method, ensuring people

‘swap’ teams regularly and therefore

spread their experience. These simple but

effective methods of capturing learninglead to improved working practices, cross

fertilisation of ideas and thinking, and

facilitates the development of new ideas

and implementation of changing

technology. In addition, it has a direct

effect on the development of younger

team members, helping them be better

performers and become the experts of the

future.

5

Reviewing/5.4



Who should take responsibility for my

development?

Ultimately, you are responsible for your

own learning and development. However,

your employer will obviously benefit from

any growth in your professional

competence, and it will be in their best

interest to guide and support you.

Organisations vary greatly in the provision

they make for employee development,

from those who have an institution

accredited or approved professionaldevelopment scheme to those who make

no effort at all.

If your employer does not have any form

of development scheme, but will support

your development informally and provide

training and support when required, then

you will ‘self-manage’ your own

professional development to some extent.

Whatever the case, you should drive the

process yourself, using guidance and

advice provided by your institution when

you need it, to ensure that your career

takes the shape that you want.

What happens if I change employer?

Changing employer will never be a barrier

to your professional development, and is

often a mark of your successful career

planning. All your development to datewill transfer with you and, providing you

keep your records current and up-to-date,

you should not have to retrace your steps

later to find evidence or obtain

verification. However, it is important to be

sure that evidence you have collected is

signed off, that you have sample

signatures where necessary, and to have

a final ‘tidying up’ meeting with your

mentor, if you will not be able to continue

working with them.

Once you join your new employer, you will

need to build relationships with a new

network of supporters, and possibly a new

mentor. If you need a new mentor and are

unable to gain one through your newemployer, you should approach your

institution for help.

What happens if I am self-employed?

Being self-employed is not a barrier to

professional development. You may find it

beneficial to find support through friends,

clients, a mentor, or your personal network,

particularly if you wish to self-assess or need to benchmark your competence.

Those supporters will also be able to help

you with verification if necessary.

What happens if I am not getting the

development I need?

You are responsible for your own

development so if you feel that you are not

getting the right opportunities to develop

appropriate competences, you need to

take action. Your first step should be to

arrange to discuss your concerns with your

mentor or line manager. They may be able

to help you to identify how your current

tasks are contributing to your development,

or facilitate a move into a different role

with better scope. If you feel you can’t talk

to someone in your employing organisation,

contact your institution for advice.

What happens if I am taking a career

break/unemployed?

If you are taking a career break your

employer may require you to undertake a

certain amount of development activity

during your break or in the period

immediately before your return to work.

Additionally, during the break you may be

involved in activities which contribute to

your development.

If you are unemployed you may have

opportunities to undertake short courses,

cross-training or work placements.

6

AQs and References/6.2



Voluntary work, researching job

opportunities, preparing for and attending

interviews can all help to develop your

interpersonal skills. Whatever the case, be

sure to maintain details in your professional

development records and obtain

verification wherever possible.

I’ve heard references to SARTOR and UK

SPEC, but what do they mean?

SARTOR stands for Standards And Routesto Registration and was replaced on 1st

March 2004 with UK SPEC , UK Standard for

Professional Engineering Competence.

These are the standards set down by the

Engineering Council (UK), against which

the institutions judge candidates before

they are admitted to the Register as

Chartered Engineer, Incorporated

Engineer or Engineering Technician. You

will only need to consider this if you are

working towards professional registration.

The professional development element for

those working towards professional

registration is now based on competence.

Your institution will be able to provide you

with further information on UK SPEC, and

answer any questions on your specific

circumstances. Information on the

educational requirements can be found

on your institution’s web site.

If you are working towards a professionalqualification, please also see the section

to the right on Professional Registration for

more specific answers to some of these

questions.

Professional registration

If one of your goals is to gain professional

registration, this section will provide you

with the additional information and

guidance you will need. However, don’t

forget that your institution is there to help

and support you in achieving this

important milestone.

Whether you are working toward

becoming a Chartered Engineer,

Chartered Physicist, Incorporated Engineer or Engineering Technician, the professional

development process is the same. Here

you will find basic, generic information –

however, your own institution may have

some specific requirements regarding the

way you make your application. You

should contact your own institution for

guidance on the requirements for your

specific qualification.

Competence and commitment statements

Engineering Qualifications:

If you are working towards professional

recognition then your institution will require

you to be working at an appropriate level.

Descriptions of these levels are set out in

the Engineering Council (UK)’s Roles and

Responsibilities, see page 6.8 of this

section. You are also required to

demonstrate competence andcommitment in a number of areas.

The Engineering Council Competence

and Commitment statements, derived

from the Roles and Responsibilities, form

the basis of the Professional Review.

Development action plans and evidence

records should be presented to

demonstrate that these statements have

been addressed and competence

achieved to a standard appropriate tothe candidate’s job for the required

registration level – Chartered Engineer,

Incorporated Engineer or Engineering

Technician.

6

FAQs and References/6.3



These statements may be useful as a

framework for your lifelong/CPD activities

as well as Initial/Qualifying Professional

Development, and can be found in

Competence & Commitment Statements,

page 6.9.

Chartered Physicist:

Whilst the Institute of Physics reserves the

right to interview candidates for Chartered

Physicist, this is not normal practice - the

exercise being paper-based. CPhys is theprofessional qualification for those

Members or Fellows who can demonstrate

a high level of competence and

professionalism in the practice of pure or

applied physics, and who are committed

to maintaining their expertise. (Pure or

applied physics includes engineering,

inter-disciplinary subjects, and physics

teaching.)

The requirements for CPhys are:

• An accredited MPhys degree in physics

or its equivalent: those with an

accredited Bachelor's degree (or other

qualification) must demonstrate

MPhys/MSci equivalence

• Evidence of a commitment to CPD

(through development plans, logs and

reports)

• 2 years of structured professionaldevelopment, leading to the acquisition

of the following technical and

managerial competences

1. general and specialist knowledge,

in relation to the practice of

physical science

2. theoretical and practical methods

in the analysis and solution of

problems

3. technical and managerial skills

4. communication and

interpersonal skills

5. professional conduct

• 2 years of responsible experience.

All CPhys candidates must complete a

Professional Review Report of about 1,000

words (addressing responsible experience,

the acquisition of the listed competences,

and CPD evidence).

Those required to demonstrate MPhys

equivalence by means of professional

experience are asked to write an

additional report (of some 1,000 words) as

evidence that this has been achieved. Thisreport is separate from the review report

mentioned in the preceding paragraph -

but, should candidates having to submit

both choose to do so, these two reports

may be combined in an overall report of

not less than 1,500 words.

CPhys candidates must also nominate 2

'supporters', able to comment on the data

and evidence contained in the

application papers. These Supporters must

be of CPhys - or equivalent - professional

status.

Chartered Scientist

The designation Chartered Scientist (CSci)

ensures high and improving standards

across all scientific disciplines. The

Chartered Scientist designation reflects

best practice in science and is set at a

benchmark level throughout the

profession.

In 2003 the Science Council invited

institutions to apply for licenses to award

Chartered Scientist (CSci). The Institute of

Physics and Royal Aeronautical Society

were two of the first bodies to be awarded

a license and are now ready to accept

applications.

Like CEng and CPhys, CSci has a set of

competences candidates should consider

while undergoing professional

development (please refer to page 6.14).

Candidates may be confused about

6




which chartered status would be most

suitable for them. If this applies to you look

at the FAQ page for ways to make the

choice easier.

These competence statements may be

useful as a framework for your

lifelong/CPD activities as well as

initial/qualifying professional development.

The statements appropriate to your level

of registration are listed below.

Issues that may arise for

those working towards

registration

Who is responsible for your development?

Whatever qualification you are trying to

achieve, you are likely to fall into one of

the following categories with regard to thesupport you receive for your initial or

qualifying professional development:

1. Your employer has an Institution

Accredited or Approved Professional

Development Scheme

2. Your employer has an established

Professional Development or Graduate

Training Scheme but it is not

Accredited by your institution.3. Your employer does not have any form

of Development Scheme but will

support your development informally

and provide training and support when

required. You will ‘self-manage’ your

own Professional Development to some

extent.

4. You have progressed to a responsible

role in engineering without a

professional qualification or structured

training/development, and now wish to

obtain professional recognition.

In each case you retain responsibility for

your own professional development.

In cases 1. and 2. it is likely that your

employer will operate some of the

procedures for preparing and verifying

your professional development records.

Nonetheless you should maintain

ownership of your own development and

make significant inputs to the process.

In cases 3. and 4. you will probably have

to drive the process yourself, usingguidance and advice provided by your

institution.

Changing employer

Changing employer will not be a barrier to

you, providing you keep your records

current and up-to-date. It is important to

be sure that evidence you have collected

is signed off, that you have sample

signatures from your assessors, and to have

a final ‘tidying up’ meeting with your

mentor, if you will not be able to continue

working with them.

Once you join your new employer, you will

need to build relationships with your new

assessors, and if possible a new mentor. If

you need a new mentor and are unable to

gain one through your new employer, you

should approach your institution for help.

Make your new employer aware that you

are working towards professional

recognition, and seek their support where

possible. Then just update your

employment history and continue to keep

your records as before.

6




Becoming self-employed

As a self-employed person you will not

have easy access to assessors, a sponsor

or a mentor. Speak to your institution

about the help and support they are able

to give.

Clients may be willing to help you by

acting as assessor. However, where this is

not possible you will have to self-assess

yourself, maintaining records of this, and

seek verification later.

Being self-employed can make getting a

record of evidence assessed more difficult,

but with help from your institution you will

be able to achieve your goals and obtain

professional registration.

Getting the development you need

You are responsible for your own

development so if you feel that you are

not getting the right opportunities to

develop appropriate competences you

need to take action. Your first step should

be to arrange to discuss your concerns

with your mentor or line manager. They

may be able to help you to identify how

your current tasks are contributing to your

development, or facilitate a move into a

different role with better scope. If you feel

you can’t talk to someone in your

employing organisation, contact your institution for advice.

Taking a career break or becoming

unemployed

If you are taking a career break or you

become unemployed, you may have to

delay your plans to gain professional

registration. However, the work you have

already done will not be lost, and you may

have opportunities to undertake short

courses, cross-training or work placements

which will contribute to your records.

Volunteer work, researching job

opportunities, preparing for and attending

interviews can all help to develop your

interpersonal skills.

Whatever the case, be sure to maintain

details in your professional development

record and obtain verification wherever

possible. You will then be able to

recommence your plan once you return

to work.

Understanding UK SPEC

UK SPEC stands for UK Standards for

Professional Engineering Competence.

These are the standards set down by the

Engineering Council (UK), against which

the Institutions judge candidates before

they are admitted to the Register as a

Chartered Engineer, Incorporated

Engineer or Engineering Technician.

UK SPEC replaces SARTOR 2 and 3,

Standards and Routes to Registration, and

came into effect on 1st March 2004.

Professional development for those

working towards professional registration is

based on competence, a full list of the

competence and commitment statements

can be found on page 6.10. Your

institution will be able to provide you with

further information on UK SPEC, and

answer any questions on your specific

circumstances.

6




Engineering Council’s Definition of

Professional Development

‘The systematic maintenance

improvement and broadening of

knowledge and skill, and the development

of personal qualities necessary for the

execution of professional duties

throughout working life.’

Engineering Council’s Three Point Code

of Practice

UK Standards for Professional Engineering

Competence (UKSPEC) requires

registrants to:

1. demonstrate commitment to

maintaining professional competence

through self-managed Professional

Development,

2. take responsibility for and manage

Professional Development, and

3. support the learning and development

of others.

Keeping records for professional

registration

When making an application for

registration you will need to prove that

you have met the competence and

commitment statements, at a levelappropriate to your target qualification.

In order to do this, you will need to keep

a portfolio of evidence.

How you create and maintain your

portfolio is entirely up to you. In the section

on Recording we have included some

forms that you might like to try. You do not

have to use these forms. You may have

some provided by your employer, decide

to create your own, or you may adapt

these to meet your own needs.

6




Roles & responsibilities

Extract from Engineering Council (UK)

UK Standards for Professional Engineering

Competence 2004

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Chartered Engineers are characterised by

their ability to develop appropriate

solutions to engineering problems, using

new or existing technologies, throughinnovation, creativity and change. They

may develop and apply new

technologies, promote advanced designs

and design methods, introduce new and

more efficient production techniques and

marketing and construction concepts,

and pioneer new engineering services and

management methods. They may be

involved with the management and

direction of high-risk and resource-

intensive projects. Professional judgement

is a key feature of their role, allied to the

assumption of responsibility for the

direction of important tasks, including the

profitable management of industrial and

commercial enterprises.

Incorporated Engineer (IEng)

Incorporated Engineers are specialists in

the development and application of

today’s technology, managing andmaintaining applications of current and

developing technology at the highest

efficiency. With their detailed knowledge

and understanding of current engineering

applications, they possess the skills and

know-how to make things happen and

often have key operational management

roles. They have detailed understanding of

a recognised field of technology and

exercise independent judgement and

management within that field. They addsubstantial value, independently and as

leaders, to any organisation where

technology is a core activity or supports

the business.

Engineering Technician (EngTech)

Engineering Technicians are creative and

skilled engineering practitioners, often with

responsibility for operational engineering

and other staff. They apply knowledge

and proven techniques and procedures to

the solution of practical problems in a

wide variety of contexts. They carry a

measure of supervisory and technical

responsibility and are competent to

exercise creative aptitudes and skills within

defined fields of technology. They make akey contribution to a range of functions,

including design, development,

manufacture, commissioning, operation

and maintenance of products,

equipment, processes and services.

They apply safe systems of work.

6




Competence and

commitment statements

This section details the Competence and

Commitment Statements, which are the

standards for the following qualifications: -

Chartered Engineer

Chartered Engineers must be competent

throughout their working life, by virtue of

their education, training and experience,

to:

A Use a combination of general and

specialist engineering knowledge

and understanding to optimise the

application of existing and emerging

technology

A1 Maintain and extend a sound

theoretical approach in enabling

the introduction and exploitationof new and advancing

technology and other relevant

developments.

This could include an ability to:

• Identify the limits of own personal

knowledge and skills

• Strive to extend own technological

capability

• Broaden and deepen own

knowledge base through research

and experimentation

A2 Engage in the creative and

innovative development of

engineering technology and

continuous improvement systems.


• Establish user’s needs

• Assess marketing needs and

contribute to marketing strategies

• Identify constraints and exploitopportunities for the development

and transfer of technology within

own chosen field.

• Promote new applications when

appropriate.• Secure the necessary intellectual

property rights.

• Develop and evaluate continuous

improvements systems.

B Apply appropriate theoretical and

practical methods to the analysis and

solution of engineering problems:

B1 Identify potential projects and

opportunities.


• Explore the territory within own

responsibility for new opportunities.

• Review the potential for enhancing

engineering products, processes,

systems and services.

• Use own knowledge of the

employer’s position to assess the

viability of opportunities.

B2 Conduct appropriate research,and undertake design and

development of engineering

solutions.


• dentify and agree appropriate

research methodologies.

• Assemble the necessary resources.

• Carry out the necessary tests.

• Collect, analyse and evaluate the

relevant data.

• Draft, present and agree design

recommendations.

• Undertake engineering design.

B3 Implement design solutions and

evaluate their effectiveness.


• Ensure that the application of the

design results in the appropriate

practical outcome.

• Identify the required cost, quality,safety, reliability, appearance, fitness

for purpose and environmental

impact of the outcome.

6




• Determine the criteria for evaluating

the design solutions.• Evaluate the outcome against the

original specification.

• Actively learn from feedback on

results to improve future design

solutions and build best practice.

C Provide technical and commercial

leadership

C1 Plan for effective project

implementation.


• Identify the factors affecting the

project implementation.

• Lead on preparing and agreeing

implementation plans and method

statements.

• Ensure that the necessary resources

are secured and brief the project

team.

• Negotiate the necessary contractual

arrangements with other stakeholders(client, subcontractors, suppliers, etc).

C2 Plan, budget, organise, direct and

control tasks, people and

resources.


• Set up appropriate management

systems.

• Agree quality standards, programme

and budget.

• Organise and lead work teams,

co-ordinating project activities.

• Ensure that variations from quality

standards, programme and budgets

are identified, and that corrective

action is taken.

• Gather and evaluate feedback, and

recommend improvements.

C3 Lead teams and develop staff to

meet changing technical and

managerial needs.


• Agree objectives and work plans withteams and individuals.

• Identity team and individual needs,

and plan for their development.

• Lead and support team and

individual development.

• Assess team and individual

performance, and provide

feedback.

C4 Bring about continuous

improvement through qualitymanagement.


• Promote quality throughout the

organisation and its customer and

supplier networks.

• Develop and maintain operations to

meet quality standards.

• Direct project evaluation and

propose recommendations for

improvement.

D Demonstrate effective


D1 Communicate in English with

others at all levels.


• Contribute to, chair and record

meetings and discussions.

• Prepare letters, documents and

reports.

• Exchange information and provide

advice to technical and not-

technical colleagues.

D2 Present and discuss proposals.


• Prepare and deliver appropriate

presentations.

• Lead and sustain debates with

audiences.

• Feed the results back to improvethe proposals.

6

Qs and References/6.10



D3 Demonstrate personal and

social skills.


• Know and manage own emotions,

strengths and weaknesses.

• Be aware of the needs and concerns

of others.

• Be confident and flexible in dealing

with new and changing interpersonal

situations.

• Identify, agree and work towards

collective goals.• Resolve conflicts and create,

maintain and enhance productive

working relationships.

E Demonstrate a personal commitment

to professional standards, recognising

obligations to society, the profession

and the environment

E1 Comply with relevant codes of

conduct.


• Comply with the rules of professional

conduct of own professional body.

• Work constructively within all relevant

legislation and regulatory

frameworks, including social and

employment legislation.

E2 Manage and apply safe systems

of work.


• Identify and take responsibility for

own obligations for health, safety

and welfare issues.

• Ensure that systems satisfy health,

safety and welfare requirements.

• Develop and implement appropriate

hazard identification and risk

management systems.

• Manage, evaluate and improve

these systems.

E3 Undertake engineering activities

in a way that contributes to

sustainable development.


• Operate and act responsibly, takingaccount of the need to progress

environmental, social and economic

outcomes simultaneously.

• Use imagination, creativity and

innovation to provide products and

services which maintain and

enhance the quality of the

environment and community, and

meet financial objectives.

• Understand and encourage

stakeholder involvement.

E4 Carry out continuing professional

development necessary to

maintain and enhance

competence in own area of

practice.


• Undertake reviews of own

development needs and prepare

actions plans to meet personal and

organisational objectives.• Carry out planned and unplanned

CPD activities.

• Maintain evidence of competence

development.

• Evaluate CPD outcomes against the

action plans.

• Assist others with their own CPD.

Chartered Physicist

The competences to be attained are as

follows. These need to be interpreted

within the context of your career and will

differ in detail for physicists in research,

teaching, engineering, etc. It is recognised

that the degree of emphasis on specific

competences will vary between different

occupations.

A General and specialist knowledge in

relation to the practice of physical

science


• Maintain a sound theoretical

approach to the introduction of

new and advancing theories.

6




6


• Apply a lateral approach to problem

solving, and to evaluate data

critically, drawing logical conclusions.

• Exploit emerging theories, so as to

enhance current practice and

knowledge.

• Demonstrate an interest in broader

developments within the physical

sciences, and make a contribution to

your profession outside your direct

work environment.

B Theoretical and practical methods inthe analysis and solution of problems


• Identify potential projects and

problems.

• Conduct appropriate research and

appraise possible solutions.

• Plan and implement solutions.

• Evaluate solutions and make

improvements.

C Technical and managerial Skills


• Plan and prepare a project to

effective implementation.

• Create and carry out an action plan

to make effective use of all resources

(such as people, time, finance) and

demonstrate foresight in carrying out

tasks.

• Develop the capabilities of

staff/people for whom you areresponsible, eg students or assistants,

to meet the demands of changing

technical and managerial

requirements.

• Plan and implement a quality control

and assurance framework.

• Exert appropriate influence and

effective leadership qualities.

D Communication and interpersonal skills


• Communicate clearly and effectively

with others at all levels, both by oral

and written methods.

• Present and discuss concepts, ideas

and plans convincingly and

objectively with your superiors and

others.

• Participate effectively within a team.

• Apply negotiation skills.

E Professional conduct


• Behave towards peers with integrity

and honesty.

• Observe rules and regulationsrelating to your professional practice.

• Be aware of and sensitive to health,

safety and environmental issues.

• Show sensitivity and, where

appropriate, observe confidentiality

in verbal and written

communications.

• Carry out the continuing professional

development necessary to ensure

competence in your future career.

Chartered Scientist

These are the competences for CSci.

Candidates should interpret them within

the context of their career.

A The broad knowledge, understanding,

experience and skills appropriate to

the level of CSci.

B Demonstrate theoretical and practicalmethods in the analysis and solution of

problems.

C Plan and organise time effectively.

D Demonstrate good written and oral

communication skills.

E Demonstrate good team skills.

F Demonstrate effective influencing and

negotiation skills.



6

G Demonstrate an understanding and

commitment to health & safety and

environmental issues relating to

your work.

H Apply professional ethics in your work.

I Demonstrate a commitment to

continued learning and professional

development.

Further guidance can be found at

www.careers.iop.org

Incorporated Engineers

Incorporated Engineers must be

competent throughout their working life,

by virtue of their education, training and

experience, to:

A Use a combination of general and

specialist engineering knowledge and

understanding to apply existing and

emerging technology:

A1 Maintain and extend a sound

theoretical approach to the

application of technology

in engineering practice.


• Identify the limits of own personal

• knowledge and skills.

• Strive to extend own technological

capability.• Broaden and deepen own

knowledge base through new

applications and techniques.

A2 Use a sound evidence-based

approach to problem solving and

contribute to continuous

improvement.


• Establish users’ requirements for

improvement.• Use market intelligence and

knowledge of technological

developments to promote and

improve the effectiveness of

engineering products, systems

and services.

• Contribute to the evaluation and

development of continuous

improvement systems.

B Apply appropriate theoretical and

practical methods to design,

develop, manufacture, construct,

commission, operate and maintain


systems and services:

B1 Identify, review and select

techniques, procedures and

methods to undertake

engineering tasks.


• Select a review methodology.

• Review the potential for enhancing


systems and services, using evidence

from best practice.

• Establish an action plan to implement

the results of the review.

B2 Contribute to the design and

development of engineering

solutions.


• Contribute to the identification and

specification of design and

development requirements for

engineering products, processes,systems and services.

• Identify problems and evaluate

possible engineering solutions to

meet client needs.

• Contribute to the design of

engineering solutions.

B3 Implement design solutions and

contribute to their evaluation.


• Secure the resources required for implementation.




6


• Implement design solutions, taking

account of cost, quality, safety,reliability, appearance, fitness for

purpose and environmental impact.

• Identify problems during

implementation and take

corrective action.

• Contribute to the evaluation

of design solutions.

• Contribute to recommendations for

improvements and actively learn

from feedback on results.

C Provide technical and commercial

management:

C1 Plan for effective project

implementation.


• Identify the factors affecting the

project implementation.

• Prepare and agree implementation

plans and method statements.

• Secure the necessary resources andconfirm roles in project team.

• Apply the necessary contractual

arrangements with other

stakeholders (client, subcontractors,

suppliers, etc).

C2 Manage the planning, budgeting

and organisation of tasks, people

and resources.


• Operate appropriate management

systems.

• Work to the agreed quality

standards, programme and budget.

• Manage work teams, co-ordinating

project activities.

• Identify variations from quality

standards, programme and budgets,

and take corrective action.

• Evaluate performance and

recommend improvements.

C3 Manage teams and develop staff

to meet changing technical and

managerial needs.


• Agree objectives and work plans with

teams and individuals.• Identify team and individual needs,

and plan for their development.

• Manage and support team and

individual development.

• Assess team and individual

performance, and provide

feedback.

C4 Manage continuous quality

improvement.


• Ensure the applications of quality

management principles by team

members and colleagues.

• Manage operations to maintain

quality standards.

• Evaluate projects and make

recommendations for improvement.

D Demonstrate effective


D1 Communicate in English with

others at all levels.


• Contribute to, chair and record

meetings and discussions.

• Prepare letters, documents and

reports.

• Exchange information and provide

advice to technical and non-

technical colleagues.

D2 Present and discuss proposals.


• Prepare and deliver appropriate

presentations.

• Lead and sustain debates with

audiences.

• Feed the results back to improve

the proposals.

D3 Demonstrate personal and

social skills.




• Know and manage own emotions,strengths and weaknesses.

• Be aware of the needs and

concerns of others.

• Be confident and flexible in dealing

with new and changing interpersonal

situations.

• Identify, agree and work towards

collective goals.

• Resolve conflicts and create,

maintain and enhance productive

working relationships.

E Demonstrate a personal commitment

to professional standards, recognising

obligations to society, the profession

and the environment

E1 Comply with relevant codes of

conduct.


• Comply with the rules of professional

conduct of own professional body.• Work constructively within all relevant

legislation and regulatory

frameworks, including social and

employment legislation.

E2 Manage and apply safe systems

of work.


• Identify and take responsibility for

own obligations for health, safety

and welfare issues.

• Ensure that systems satisfy health,

safety and welfare requirements.

• Develop and implement appropriate

hazard identification and risk

management systems.

• Manage, evaluate and improve

these systems.

E3 Undertake engineering activities in

a way that contributes to

sustainable development.


• Operate and act responsibly, takingaccount of the need to progress

environmental, social and economic

outcomes simultaneously.

• Use imagination, creativity and

innovation to provide products and

services which maintain and

enhance the quality of the

environment and community, and

meet financial objectives.

• Understand and encourage

stakeholder involvement.

E4 Carry out continuing professional

development necessary to

maintain and enhance

competence in own area of

practice.


• Undertake reviews of own

development needs and prepare

actions plans to meet personal and

organisational objectives.• Carry out planned and unplanned

CPD activities.

• Maintain evidence of competence

development.

• Evaluate CPD outcomes against the

action plans.

• Assist others with their own CPD.

Engineering Technicians

Engineering Technicians must be

competent throughout their working life,

by virtue of their education, training

and experience, to:

A Use engineering knowledge and

understanding to apply technology and

practical skills


• Review and select appropriate

techniques, procedures andmethods to undertake tasks.

6




• Use appropriate scientific or

engineering principles.

B Contribute to the design,

development, manufacture,

construction, commissioning,

operation or maintenance of

products, equipment, processes,

systems and services

In context, this could include an

ability to:

• Identify problems and applydiagnostic methods to identify

causes and achieve satisfactory

solutions.

• Identify, organise and use resources

effectively to complete tasks, with

consideration to cost, quality,

safety and environmental impact.

C Accept and exercise personal

responsibility

This could include an ability to:• Work reliably and effectively without

close supervision, to the appropriate

codes of practice.

• Accept responsibility for work of self

and others.

• Accept, allocate and supervise

technical and other tasks.

D Use effective communication and



• Use oral, written and electronic

methods for the communication

in English of technical and other

information.

• Work effectively with colleagues,

clients, suppliers and the public.

E Make a personal commitment to an

appropriate code of professional

conduct, recognising obligations to

society, the profession and theenvironment

In order to satisfy this commitment,

they must:

• Comply with the codes and rules of

conduct of their licensed institution.

• Manage and apply safe systems

of work.

• Undertake their engineering work

making and utilising risk assessments,

and observing good practice with

regard to the environment.

• Carry out continuing professional

development, including opportunities

offered by their institution, to ensurecompetence in areas and at the

level of future intended practice.

6




6


Institution contact details

Educational Initial/Qualifying Membership Continuing Professional

Requirements Professional Development Enquiries Development

IIE

Savoy Hill House Membership Department Training and Professional Membership Department Training and Professional

Savoy Hill Tel: +44 (0 ) 20 7836 3357 Development Department Tel: +44 (0) 20 7836 3357 Development Department

London E-mail: Tel: +44 (0) 20 7836 3357 E-mail : Tel: +44 (0) 20 7836 3357

WC2R 0BS membersh ip@i ie.org.uk E-mail : t ra in [email protected] [email protected] E-mail : t ra in [email protected]

www.iie.org.uk

IEE

Michael Faraday Membership Department Professional Development Membership Department Professional Development

House Tel: +44 (0) 1438 765673 Department Tel: +44 (0) 1438 767282 Department

S ix H il ls Way E-mai l: Tel : +44 (0) 1438 767647 E-mail : Te l: +44 (0) 1438 765572

Stevenage [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Herts

SG1 2AY

www.iee.org

IMechE

1 B irdcage Membersh ip Department Professional Development Membership Department Professional Affai rs

Walk Help Line: Department Help Line: Accreditation &

London +44 (0) 845 226 9191 Tel: +44 (0) 207 797 31250 +44 (0) 845 226 9191 Profess ional Development

SW1H 9JJ E-mail: E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: Tel: +44 (0) 20 7973 1263

[email protected] [email protected] E-mail:

www.imeche.org.uk [email protected]

IOP

76-78 Portland Membership Department Professional Standards Membership Department Professional Standards

Place Tel: +44 (0) 207 470 4800 Office Tel: +44 (0) 207 470 4800 Office

London E-mail: Tel: +44 (0) 207 470 4800 E-mail: Tel: +44 (0) 207 470 4800

W1B 1NT [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail:

[email protected] career.development

www.iop.org @iop.org

RAeS

4 Hamilton Place Professional Standards Professional Standards Professional Standards Professional Standards

London Department Department Department Department

W1J 7BQ Tel: +44 (0) 207 670 4300 Tel: +44 (0) 207 670 4300 Tel: +44 (0) 207 670 4300 Tel: +44 (0) 207 670 4300

E-mail: E-mail: E-mail: E-mail:

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

www.aerosociety.com



6


Useful contacts

Engineering Council (UK)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 240 7891

Website: www.engc.org.uk

Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development (CIPD)

Tel: +44 (0) 208 612 6200

Website: www.cipd.co.uk

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

Tel: +44 (0) 1536 204222

Website: www.managers.org.uk

Institute of Directors (IOD)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 776 8866

Website: www.iod.co.uk

Department of Trade & Industry (Dti)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 215 5000

Website: www.dti.gov.uk

The British Chamber of Commerce

Website: www.britishchambers.org.uk

Government Information

Website: www.direct.gov.uk

DfeS

Website: www.dfes.gov.uk

Investors in People

Tel: +44 (0) 207 467 1900

Website: www.iipuk.co.uk

Engineering Employers Federation (EEF)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 222 7777

Website: www.eef.org.uk

The Chartered Institute of Marketing

Tel: +44 (0) 1628 427500

Website: www.cim.co.uk

The Institute of Leadership and

Management

Tel: +44 (0) 1543 251346

Website: www.i-l-m.com

ENTO

Tel: +44 (0) 116 251 7979

Website: www.ento.co.uk

Institute of Reflective Practice

Tel: +44 (0) 1452 309897

Website: www.reflectivepractices.com

CRAC

(Careers Research and Advisory Centre)

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 460277

Website: www.crac.org.uk

FEANI

(Fédération Européenne d’Associations

Nationales d’Ingénieurs)

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.feani.org

Association for Project Management

Tel: +44 (0) 845 458 1944

Website: www.apm.org.uk

QCA

(Qualifications and Curriculum Authority)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 509 5555

Website: www.qca.org.uk

SEMTA

(Sector Skills Council for Science,

Engineering, Manufacturing Technology)

Tel: +44 (0) 1923 238441

Website: www.semta.org.uk

Health & Safety Executive (HSE)

Tel: +44 (0) 845 345 0055

Website: www.hse.gov.uk

British Computer Society (BCS)

Tel: +44 (0) 1793 417424

Website: www.bcs.org

SWEBOK(Software Eng. Body of Knowledge)

Tel: +1 514 396 8623 (Quebec)

Website: www.swebok.org

OSCEng

(Occupational Standards Council for

Engineering)

Tel: +44 (0) 207 233 09353

Website: www.osceng.co.uk



6

Definition of terms

Appraisal

A formalised, recorded assessment of an

individual’s performance in a specific

professional role, also used to identify

contribution to business objectives and

personal development needs.

Assessor

A person who is able to assess or verify a

particular development activity that you

have completed, or a piece of evidence.This could be a supervisor, line manager,

course tutor, graduate development

officer, project manager, etc.

Competence

The knowledge, skill and attitude to

perform a certain task at a given level.

Competence Framework

A set of competence statements which,

taken together, describe the abilities

required to perform a given role.

Competence Statement

A statement or description of the level of

ability which must be demonstrated, in

order to be judged competent for one

particular task.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The systematic maintenance, improvement

and broadening of knowledge and skills,

and the development of personal qualitiesnecessary for the execution of professional

duties throughout working life.

Direct Objective Training (DOT)

Formal or experiential training intended to

meet a specific task or learning objective.

Development Action Plan (DAP)

A document which records the current

development objectives of an individual,

with timescales and means by which thoseobjectives are intended to be achieved.

This should be a ‘living’ document, which is

regularly reviewed for relevance to current

and future competence requirements.

Evidence

An item or document which constitutesproof of an individual’s ability or

competence in a given task/role.

Initial/Qualifying Professional Development

(IPD)

The structured professional development

undertaken by an individual in order to

meet the requirements for registration.

(Competence) Level

A grade signifying one’s degree of

competence or skill in performing a

specific task.

Learning Styles

The different approaches to the acquisition

of knowledge, defined by four disparate

types of style.

Mentor

A person, preferably an appropriate

professional, who can guide you towards

becoming a competent professionalperson able to contribute to the

company, the profession and the

community.

Performance Review

An analysis of achievement against

objectives, and other incidental

development, normally conducted by

either a line manager or mentor.

Portfolio

Collection of work or other papers (in this

case, evidence) which, taken as a whole,

offers a picture of an individual’s range of

abilities.

Professional Development Cycle

The cyclical process of planning, doing,

recording and reviewing one’s

professional development.

Sponsor

The person with ultimate responsibility for endorsing a portfolio of evidence of

competence. Likely to be a senior

manager or director within the

candidate’s organisation.FAQs and References/6.19

Professional Development - How to do it

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