Is 30 hours of CPD easily reached?

In the past I (Career Manager V2 & earlier) I never recorded "CPD" only the specific training or seminars that I attended.  30 hours a year was OK for this some years (but not all.)  The organisattion I work for does sponsor and pay towards training.



With the onset of Carrer Manager 3 I had some issues with the migration (which IET Stevenage assisted with) but once I got into it I have found that it is much more flexible and open to record the many different types of CPD that all of us actually do.



I think that if anyone has a difficulty achieving 30 hours, then they might be surprised at how many activities actually count as CPD.  Alex is right about IET local network activities.  Just broadening the mind and attending some of these each year can add 10 Hours without difficulty (and if you volunteer to help the local network, even more hours).



Many of us have never previously considered activities at work as CPD. The other day I had to spend a few hours on the internet and reading scientific papers so I could advise properly about some potential interactions between some devices.  This was something I do quite often, filing in a knowledge gap, and   I realised that this is "self-study" CPD.  That would be the same if I was learning about a new chip by reading the data sheet and application notes and then working out how it would work for a new design.



Another common scenario is when your manager needs you to cover for him at a meeting.  Suddenly you need to find out what is due for discussion and then you are attending, often with new people, different ideas and a whole new perspective.  It makes you understand more and is CPD because you are further developed.



As engineers we spend a good proportion of our time expanding our knowledge and experience. It's all potential CPD.  When you look at these areas and don't constrain it to specific training courses, then 30 hours is relatively easy to achieve. 

In the past I (Career Manager V2 & earlier) I never recorded "CPD" only the specific training or seminars that I attended.  30 hours a year was OK for this some years (but not all.)  The organisattion I work for does sponsor and pay towards training.



With the onset of Carrer Manager 3 I had some issues with the migration (which IET Stevenage assisted with) but once I got into it I have found that it is much more flexible and open to record the many different types of CPD that all of us actually do.



I think that if anyone has a difficulty achieving 30 hours, then they might be surprised at how many activities actually count as CPD.  Alex is right about IET local network activities.  Just broadening the mind and attending some of these each year can add 10 Hours without difficulty (and if you volunteer to help the local network, even more hours).



Many of us have never previously considered activities at work as CPD. The other day I had to spend a few hours on the internet and reading scientific papers so I could advise properly about some potential interactions between some devices.  This was something I do quite often, filing in a knowledge gap, and   I realised that this is "self-study" CPD.  That would be the same if I was learning about a new chip by reading the data sheet and application notes and then working out how it would work for a new design.



Another common scenario is when your manager needs you to cover for him at a meeting.  Suddenly you need to find out what is due for discussion and then you are attending, often with new people, different ideas and a whole new perspective.  It makes you understand more and is CPD because you are further developed.



As engineers we spend a good proportion of our time expanding our knowledge and experience. It's all potential CPD.  When you look at these areas and don't constrain it to specific training courses, then 30 hours is relatively easy to achieve.