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Member PD Requirements 
Engineer
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APEGBC Terms, Conditions and Content Disclaimer |
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Continuing Professional Development - Frequently Asked Questions |
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Is compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline mandatory? How do members indicate compliance with the current CPD Guideline? Do I need to send in documentation, e.g. receipts, certificates of completion? What will happen if I do not comply with this Guideline? Who is expected to participate in regular professional development activities? How much CPD am I expected to undertake? What types of activities qualify as professional development under the CPD Guideline? Are only APEGBC seminars and workshops recognized for credit? Can members who reside outside the Lower Mainland meet the CPD Guideline requirements? The cost and time required to comply with the CPD Guideline is too onerous. Is compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guideline mandatory? Compliance with the current Guideline is recommended but not mandatory. Under the APEGBC Code of Ethics, members are responsible for undertaking Continuing Professional Development that is relevant to their practice. The Guideline outlines expectations with respect to the types of activities and amount of professional development that practicing members should be undertaking. Members who report that they are in compliance with the CPD Guideline will have “CPD Compliant” recorded in the public Online Member Directory beginning in 2010. This fall members will be asked to ratify a bylaw to bring a mandatory CPD program into effect beginning in 2011. More information on this bylaw can be found here. How do members indicate compliance with the current CPD Guideline? Members indicate their compliance with the Guideline by ticking a box and providing the total number of hours done on their Annual Dues form. Members may use the Online CPD Reporting Centre to keep track of their activities, though use of this system is not required to be in compliance with the CPD Guideline.Do I need to send in documentation, e.g. receipts, certificates of completion? Supporting documentation (e.g. receipts, certificates) should not be submitted, but must be kept on file for audit purposes for four years after the date the activity occurred. Members who are selected for Practice Review through the current selection process will be asked to provide supporting information with respect to their CPD activities. Some activities will not be verifiable (e.g. journal reading) and therefore will not be subject to auditing. What will happen if I do not comply with the current Guideline? Members who comply with the Guideline will have this noted in their record and it will be published in the public On-line Member Directory. Members who choose not to report compliance will not have a compliance note in their public member record. Who is expected to participate in regular professional development activities? Full practicing members, full members who are unemployed but intend to practice, life members with practice rights, provisional members, limited licencees, members-in-training (EIT/GIT), and non-resident licencees are expected to maintain competency under the Code of Ethics. How much CPD am I expected to undertake? To be in compliance with the current Guideline, members are required to complete an average of 30 hours per year (90 hours on a 3-year rolling average). Hours are accrued as Professional Development Hours (PDH) where 1 PDH = 1 hour of relevant professional development activity. A maximum of 20 PDH can be claimed in any one category in a calendar year. For information on the proposed mandatory program, please click here. What types of activities qualify as professional development under the CPD Guideline? There are four categories of eligible CPD activities: Formal Methods (e.g. structured courses, programs or seminars that are at least 4 hours in length) Informal Methods (e.g. self-directed study, journal reading, seminars, conferences, technical field trips, trade shows) Participation (e.g. mentoring, committee meetings) Presentations and Contributions to Knowledge (e.g. presentations, writing papers, developing codes and standards) Members are required to complete activities from at least two of the four categories. More information on these categories can be found on pages 5 and 6 of the CPD Guideline. Are only APEGBC seminars and workshops recognized for credit? No. APEGBC's Council and CPD Committee recognize that there are many excellent ways to participate in professional development. As such, any activity that is recognized as professional development is accepted, regardless of who provides it. APEGBC does not intend to accredit specific providers or programs.I work in a specialized field where professional development opportunities are limited. How can I meet the criteria? Professional development takes many forms and does not consist solely of formal courses taken at post secondary institutions. Technical journals, on-line courses, and networking meetings exist for most specialized fields.Can members who reside outside the Lower Mainland meet the CPD Guideline requirements? Technical journals and standards can be accessed regardless of location as can on-line or distance courses. Members in regions throughout the province are encouraged to create networking meetings with their colleagues and work with their local branch of APEGBC to increase access to professional development in regions throughout the province. The cost and time required to comply with the CPD Guideline is too onerous. Under the Code of Ethics, professional engineers and geoscientists are expected to follow a professional development program. As the program is very flexible with regard to the ways in which a member achieves their professional development, the cost would be controllable by the member. There are numerous professional development opportunities that are offered at little or no cost. Some examples of these are in-house seminars, employer-sponsored sessions, brown bag lunch sessions that various technical groups hold, the reading of technical journals and standards, APEGBC Branch meetings, and on-line courses. Some examples of courses that can be taken at the time of your choosing and that have a minimal cost associated with them are:
APEGBC also lists a number of links to other resources on our CPD Resource web page. Do members who hold dual registration (P.Eng./P.Geo.) need to accumulate more Professional Development hours than members who hold a P.Eng. or P.Geo? No. Under the current CPD Guideline all members are expected to accumulate the same minimum number of hours. The exception to this is members who hold the Struct. Eng. designation. These members must follow the more stringent requirements of the Struct. Eng. Mandatory CPD program. Other Questions? Please send email us at cpd@apeg.bc.ca .
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