Engineering Profession Act, 2000 (Act No. 46 of 2000)Board NoticesRules: Continuing Professional Development and Renewal of Registration, 20172. Principles underlying CPD |
| (1) | The Council is responsible for regulating the practice of engineering in South Africa. This is in terms of the Engineering Professions Act No. 46 of 2000 (the Act). Section 13(k) of the Act empowers the Council to determine, in consultation with voluntary associations (as defined in the Act) and registered persons, requirements for continuing professional development and training. The Council is enjoined by Government in terms of the Act to serve and protect the safety and health of the public by establishing and maintaining minimum standards of practice, knowledge and skills of registered persons in the country as well as to establish and maintain standards of professional ethics amongst them. |
| (2) | Registered persons are required by the Rules of Conduct for registered persons to practice strictly within their area of competence, to maintain and enhance their competence. They therefore have the responsibility to keep abreast of developments and knowledge in their areas of expertise in order to maintain their competence. In addition to maintaining their own competence, they should strive to contribute to the advancement of the body of knowledge in which they practice and to the engineering profession in general. |
| (3) | The competencies needed to function effectively as a registered person (in all engineering categories): whether in business, education, professional practice, the public sector or any other environment, is to continue to evolve, change and expand their engineering knowledge. Registered persons in all categories face increased expectations to display professional knowledge and skills in this ever-changing environment. Therefore maintaining and continuously developing professional competence is critical to meet new engineering challenges. |
| (4) | Whilst the foundation and basis for registration with the Council is the engineering competency of the registered persons, it is equally important for registered persons to develop and maintain their non-engineering competencies (general skills), such as ethical behaviour, leadership and engineering allied management skills, as these competences are also regarded as relevant CPD activities. |
| (5) | Registered persons are expected to ensure that, in their conformance to the Council’s CPD requirements, the CPD activities undertaken by them must be relevant and must contribute to the development and maintenance of specific professional competencies required by the registered person’s current and possible future roles. |
| (6) | CPD compliance in the Council is linked to the renewal of registration. Section 22(1) of the Act imposes a duty on a registered person to apply for the renewal of his/her registration with the Council “at least three months prior to the prescribed expiry date of his/her registration”. Subsection (2) of this section confers the power on the Council to determine conditions for renewal of registration. |
| (7) | The discretion provided for in Section 13k of the Act for the Council “to determine, after consultation with the recognised voluntary associations and registered persons, conditions relating to the nature and extent of continuing education and training”, influence the Council’s decision to use Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as a mechanism to determine renewal of registration. The Council’s objective is to maintain a culture of CPD for the South African engineering profession. |
| (8) | The International Engineering Alliance (IEA) to which ECSA is a signatory; visa viz International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA), The International Engineering Technologist Agreement (IETA) and The Agreement for International Engineering Technicians (AIET) as a requirement for the recognition of the Council’s assessment process, inclusive of the International Professional Attributes, continued registration of individuals, and the maintenance of competence through a system of continuing professional development. South African internationally registered persons would therefore need to undertake CPD activities in order to maintain their international registration. |
| (9) | Whilst the Council is to monitor and enforce compliance by registered persons with the CPD requirements, it is also intent on ensuring that CPD activities are objectively viewed and assessed, accessible and affordable to registered persons. In addition, it is the Council’s duty to ensure that the content of the engineering activities that the registered person attends for purposes of compliance with the Council’s CPD requirements is of an acceptable high standard. In this regard, and in line with best practice, the Council is to play an active and leading role in the area of CPD administration. |