An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

100A CHRONICLE OF THE ENGINEERING COUNCILtechnicians undertook a minimum of 35 hours a year of CPD. At this conference Tim Eggar,Minister of State at the DES, announced funding support for CPD, although the report on theconference published in June 1991 referred to ‘Continuing Education and Training’! Theterminology, CPD had not yet gained familiarity, even within the EngC, as was seen in thesame month when ‘The Engineering Council – Report of a Pilot Study – ContinuingEducation and Training (PICKUP)’ was published. Be that as it may, a network of adviserswas set up during the year to provide a framework for CPD in the regions. In December,‘Continuing Professional Development – The Practical Guide to Good Practice’ waspublished and pilot workshops were developed to assist individuals and their employers toimplement CPD. A CPD Forum [a partnership between the EngC and the Institutions] wasestablished to share experiences and examine common issues. This Forum flourished, andwas well supported by Institutions’ staff, for many years.Positive debate and progress on CPD continued throughout 1992. In March, at the AnnualCPD conference at the Institution of Civil Engineers, the theme was ‘Engineering: MakingCPD Work For You’. Nine full-time or part-time Regional CPD managers were appointedduring the year to promote and develop CPD activities locally and the CPD Forum began topublish CPD Link as a regular newsletter. By the end of 1993, CPD was no longer regardedas a novelty but essential for all registered engineers. A complementary approach wasdeveloped in collaboration with Investors in People and TECs/LECs. The CPD Forumcontinued to meet and in 1994 alone produced three issues of CPD Link. Further staff wereappointed for Wales, Sussex and Kent to assist the regional CPD managers. The Departmentof Employment supported the EngC in organising ‘Integrating CPD into Business’, aconference held in partnership with the Careers Research and Advisory Centre and otherprofessional bodies.CPD initiatives continued to be advanced during 1995, with numerous presentations,distribution of the CPD Link newsletter and a nation-wide network of regional professionaldevelopment advisers meeting regularly with employers. At the same time, in NorthernIreland, the Training and Employment Agency confirmed financial support for CPDthroughout the Province.Interfacing with IndustryIndustry AffiliatesThe EngC’s activities with its Industry Affiliates were affected, in common with other ongoingwork, by the unification debate during this period. However, some 230 IndustryAffiliates [identified in the 1991 Annual Report] continued a high level of support of money,staff and facilities, especially contributing to the debates on Risk and the Environment [seebelow] and by offering staff on secondment to act as Project Managers. The EngC appointedBob Simmons as Industry Affiliates Executive in June 1991 to manage and coordinateAffiliates’ activities. Bob Simmons had previously been a co-founder and Director ofColumbia Automation Ltd, a company that specialized in the automatic testing of PCmotherboards. Following that company’s merger with Zehmtel Inc, Bob Simmons continuedin the industry until joining the EngC. He later became the EngC Operations Manager,Industry and Regions. At the 1991 Industry Forum, Sir John Fairclough championed theunification proposals, having issued prior briefing notes - but as late as the 1994 IndustryForum, held at the IMechE in May, the central topic yet again was unification, causing arobust exchange of views.© Engineering Council UK 2004