CPD Activities

What is CPD?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is described as encompassing “the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skill, and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional and technical duties throughout the individual’s working life” (SocEnv, 2006).  The IES’ CPD scheme provides a planned and structured approach to the maintenance, upgrading and broadening of members’ skills and knowledge.  Participation in CPD signals to potential employers and clients a commitment to life-long learning and acts as a mark of quality assurance. Having an adequate and suitably maintained skill base is a part of a ‘duty of care’ of an environmental professional towards their customers, employers, society and their professional body.  In addition many insurance companies recognise the existence of a structured CPD scheme within an organisation as a factor to be considered when calculating the premium for professional indemnity insurance.

From what date will I need to record my CPD?
From January 1st 2008 CPD will be compulsory for all professional members. Professional members will be automatically registered on the scheme.

Why does the Institution insist that I complete CPD each year?
Professional members of the Institution are required to show evidence of a high standard of education and training on admission to the Institution. Members of a professional body have accepted a continuing responsibility for the maintenance of this learning.

The view of the Institution of Environmental Science (IES) is that the professional in environmental science is in no different a position to professionals in other areas. In some instances, professionals from other disciplines face serious penalties if they do not undertake a certain amount of CPD. It follows that CPD should be regarded as an integral part of an environmental professional’s career, serving to augment the professional’s ability in the workplace.

There are a number of direct benefits that can be derived from participating in and recording one’s CPD. These include:

• Furthering own knowledge of discipline
• Enhance career prospects and salary
• Demonstrate professional achievements
• Receive professional recognition
• Increase job satisfaction

The IES wishes its members to demonstrate the ability to provide high quality service, achieve greater job satisfaction and improve employability. In this sense, the central aims of CPD are to enhance career prospects and contribute to professional performance. Since Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) became available to IES members on the award of the Royal Charter to the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) in 2004, CPD has become an essential element in the winning and maintenance of chartered status.

What activities shall be considered as CPD?
There are a diverse range of activities that can count as CPD, such as:

• Courses (practical and technical)
• Conferences and seminars (both accredited and non-accredited)
• Workshops
• Writing articles and papers
• Institution committee work
• Professional updating by private study and reading
• Pursuing other related qualifications
• Research Projects

The Institution recognises the wide diversity of members’ interests within the environmental science and expects to maintain a flexible approach to CPD activities. You are advised to aim for a mix of the above categories. The balance which is right for you will depend upon the availability of the above in your local area and your own circumstances and needs.

How do I decide what CPD to undertake?
It is suggested that as a pre-requisite to this years’ CPD undertaking members should review their own personal and professional experience.  In particular you should analyse where their skills and knowledge may be lacking and define areas in which they need to improve.  You should also spend a while considering how your particular career might be changing in the light of new technological developments, emergence of specialisms, moves towards quality assurance and legislative changes.  They should also determine what their strengths are as building on existing strengths is as relevant an aim for CPD as improving on areas of weakness.  You may find the self-analysis guide on the CPD UK website useful.

Once members have a clear idea of their strengths, weakness and potential changes within their fields they should aim for their CPD to address these issues.

Those who are Chartered Environmentalists may find the CEnv list of competencies useful. These are available in the here.

How many hours CPD will I need to complete a year?
Professional members will need to complete 30 hours CPD a year, averaged over three years. The IES recognises that CPD is a long term systematic process, the scheme will take a rolling 3 year average; no one year in any of the three years may be less than 15 hours, nor will any annual hours greater than 100 be counted in the averaging.

How should pay for my CPD?
Maintaining professional competence is a personal responsibility and may involve some additional cost. However, the Institution believes that raising your professional skills and knowledge is of benefit to your employer and essential in any successful business. We therefore would recommend that you approach your employer to asking if they are willing to share responsibility for the costs of your CPD undertakings.

CPD undertakings need not cost anything. Members concerned with cost might consider a CPD plan which includes such activities as lunch time meetings with other IES members living or working nearby.

Some CPD activities may be tax deductable.

Is there anything else I should keep in my CPD records?
You may wish to augment the record pages with copy certificates, CVs, syllabi and anything else of relevance to your CPD. The CPD Record is intended to contain your complete CPD history in one place.

Will my CPD be audited?
10% of CPD, on a random basis, will be selected for review by the IES Application Review Panel (ARP).

How often do I send in my CPD records?
Members will be expected to maintain their own scheme compliant CPD records for the year.  A random selection of 10% of the membership will be asked to submit their CPD for auditing, which we will then be held in the IES records.

How should I balance my CPD?
Three forms of CPD can be broadly summarised as subject-specific skills, practical/technical skills and personal/interpersonal skills.  CPD should not concentrate on just one or two types, but be a combination of them all. The balance among these types would vary from person to person, and must be appropriate for the individual.  An imbalance one year can be corrected anytime during the three-year cycle.

What happens if I fail to complete my CPD quota for the year?
Those members who submit CPD records which do not comply with the scheme guidance, and those members who do not submit a CPD record at all, will be requested to re-submit a compliant CPD record by 31st July of the year in question (that is, a second opportunity to comply with the rules).

Those members who do not comply with the second opportunity to comply will be requested to submit a compliant CPD record with their annual membership subscriptions for the following year – in this case 1st January 2009 (that is a third opportunity to comply with the rules)

Those members who do not comply with the 3rd request by 31st March of the year in question will be given notice that their membership will be automatically terminated on the 1st July of the year in question without further notice, unless a scheme compliant CPD record is submitted before that date.  Termination of membership under these conditions will automatically also lead to termination of chartered status under CEnv.  There will be no fee remission or return for termination under such circumstances. 

Where do I get information about CPD events?
There will be information on conferences, workshops and seminars published in the EnviroSci newsletter and on the events page of this website.

Who will be allowed to access my CPD records?
Only IES office staff and the Membership Committee will have access to your records.  There are other parties that wished to have access to your CPD records such as insurance companies (if you are seeking professional indemnity insurance), clients or potential employers.  However, we will not open your records to these parties without your permission.

What happens if I take a career break?
As long as you let the Institution know that you are taking a career break, you will not be required to complete your normal CPD during your career break.

Why should I do if my CPD records are already held at another Institution or with my employer?
Continue filling in the form you currently use with the other institution, but please check our forms to see if we require any additional information.

I am a member of the IAQM and IES; which CPD form shall I fill in?
Please fill in the IAQM CPD form.

I am retired or on maternity leave, do I need to fulfil the annual CPD hours?
No.

If you have any additional queries not covered in the above FAQs, please contact the office.