Continuing professional development (CPD)

We recommend you review and update your Development Action Plan (DAP) at least once a year and log all learning activities in your Personal Development Record (PDR) regularly throughout the year.

The templates and platforms on which your CPD is planned and recorded is your choice, however ICE strongly recommends that you adopt the templates found within the CPD guidance. This will enable you to better focus the planning, recording and reflection on CPD required to fulfil your role in accordance with the CPD cycle (plan, act, assess, review).

No. As long as it meets the ICE CPD cycle (Plan – Act – Assess - Review), then we will accept alternative records providing they demonstrate your continuing commitment to professional development.

Please note that whilst we don’t require you to complete an additional CPD record, if you keep an employer formatted CPD record or a record for another institution you do need to submit this to us.

CPD activities can come in many forms. Any activity that helps you to improve, broaden or maintain your professional knowledge, skills or professional competencies can be considered a CPD activity.

This can include structured learning in formal settings but can include unstructured or self-directed learning as well. CPD can be completed both at work and outside of work.

Examples of CPD activities include courses, seminars, conferences, reading relevant publications, web-based research, exposure to new situations at work and mentoring. Please see appendix D of the CPD guidance for examples of development activities.

Where you have completed CPD activity relevant to the CPD framework, you should include this on your CPD record.

Completing a development action plan (DAP) helps you to identify areas for development so that you can proactively maintain, enhance, or improve your knowledge and skills. Planning your development is a key aspect of ICE’s CPD cycle and we recommend that all professionally qualified members complete a development action plan. However, there is no mandatory requirement to submit a DAP with your CPD record for the CPD audit.

Your records are peer-reviewed by a pool of volunteer professionally qualified ICE members with a range of skill sets who have demonstrated their CPD record keeping credentials to a high-degree. The feedback they provide is in line with the CPD guidance.

“Professionally active” means that you are involved in activity that entails the application of engineering competence; this includes being a current member of an ICE committee or panel, or volunteering as an ICE non-panel assessor.

We recommend you maintain your active learning whatever your circumstances, but there are instances where the requirement to submit your CPD is waived; for example, when you:

• were on parental leave during the period that you have been asked to demonstrate in your CPD record.
• are retired and not an active ICE volunteer, nor undertaking work relevant to your professional qualification.
• have been unemployed for more than six months.
• Are suffering from any illness or disability which prevents you from undertaking CPD
• Are on extended leave

If you feel you may be exempt for any reason, please contact [email protected] or 020 7665 2334 and an ICE member of staff will be happy to advise.

Your CPD should be about undertaking relevant development and therefore about effective outcomes. Your professional development should actively add to your knowledge and skills – this is not dependent on how long it takes you to acquire that knowledge.

ICE does not set a minimum CPD hours requirement for professionally qualified members. The number of CPD hours that a member completes will vary based on their registration grade, level of experience, role and responsibility and future career plans.

All professionally qualified members must undertake CPD activity relating to at least one of the three mandatory themes every year, ensuring that all three themes are covered during a three-year rolling period.

Professionally qualified members must include the mandatory themes in their CPD planning and include any activity they undertake relating to these in their CPD records.

If requested, you should be able to send the ICE a record of your past year’s CPD activity, along with a short statement clarifying your engagement with the mandatory themes over the year. 

From 2027, the ICE will monitor professionally qualified members’ engagement with the CPD framework’s mandatory themes as part of the annual CPD audit. From 2029, sanctions may be applied to members who fail to engage with the framework.

The CPD framework sets out seven themes: the three mandatory themes plus four additional ones – delivery excellence, energy, transport and water.

Each theme is supported by educational content accessible on the ICE Knowledge Hub that members can consume as part of their professional development.

For queries about the CPD framework or Knowledge Hub, please contact [email protected]