“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”

Civil Construction people understand that opportunity happens when we roll up our sleeves and actually do the job that needs doing. They know what it’s like to create opportunities through working hard.

Do you remember that moment in your life when you have stepped into a new role? When you feel qualified for the job?  You know you have the skills and confidence to do that job successfully. You have worked hard, ticked all the boxes and jumped through the hoops, and now that you are qualified you know that the work will create opportunities.

It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?

And then comes the next moment sooner or later in your career when you feel like you know nothing and everything you ever knew or were taught seems dated or redundant, and getting the job done seems harder every day.

That feeling is not so great.

Or perhaps you were promoted, and suddenly the job you knew how to do well is not the job you are doing now, and instead of the skills you were taught; you need a new set of skills and understanding of things like people management, technical knowledge, operational understanding or just need a more comprehensive industry viewpoint.

And you feel like you are slipping behind.

With the accelerated change in nearly every area of work and life making it harder every day to feel you’re on a level playing field, it feels even harder to get ahead of the pack.

That is why we need to take new directions to keep up and get ahead.

One very successful strategy to cope with these rapid changes is the systematic process of Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
92% of Project Managers thought that CPD helped them in their career*

Continuous Learning or CPD is a useful strategy as it creates a stronger, more resilient mindset to help you overcome obstacles, build confidence and capacity to achieve success through a lifelong focus on improved learning and increased professional development.

Whatever stage you are at in your Civil Construction career, CPD involves maintaining, enhancing and extending your knowledge, expertise, and competence. It includes:

 

• Broadening your understanding of other areas that are relevant to you
• Keeping pace or getting ahead, instead of falling behind your colleagues
• Sharpening your skill-set and developing new skills
• Developing a better overview of the practical application of new skills and knowledge
• Successfully applying your knowledge and experience
• Developing more extensive understanding through networking and shared experiences

CPD helps you advance the body of knowledge within your profession so that by continuing to learn and improve your skills you become more highly regarded and sought after by your co-workers and professional peers.

You feel capable and confident and better prepared to tackle the demands of the job and adapt more easily to change.
Think of CPD as an investment in YOU – an investment by you in your career and an investment in your development as a professional. While you might be contributing time and effort today, the payout in your future worth is immeasurable.

Your CPD also becomes a process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge, and experience that you gain both formally and informally as you work beyond any initial training. It’s a record of what you experience, learn and contribute along your career pathway.

The CPD process helps you manage your development on an ongoing basis. Its function is to help you record, review and reflect on what you learn and how you work effectively by:

 

• Documenting your process
• Becoming self-directed and driving your expertise
• Learning from experience, reflective learning, and review
• Discovering useful development goals and objectives
• Thriving in the way you learn, both formal and informal learning
• We learn from doing and experience is a great teacher, but it does mean that you can get caught up in habits.  Focused CPD
• exposes you to new possibilities, new understanding, and new areas to develop critical skill-sets.

A high starting point is to ask yourself …

“Where am I now?”

“What do I have to do to get there?”

“What help do I need?”

“What options do I need to consider?”

Even alone you can develop habits that can give you a broader understanding of the industry through personal research, reading and working on technical skills, but it can be tough to stay focused and disciplined.

Most people supervising and managing recommend structured programs that provide a mix of formal and informal learning environments and build social and networking opportunities with people who share a common interest but have different experiences and viewpoints.   This shared environment creates a dynamic environment to grow and develop skills and knowledge.

The Institute of Civil Infrastructure has been developed by Civil and Management industry experts to give supervisors, managers, and leaders of all levels in the civil infrastructure industry a continual learning and career progression program. It’s a way to learn more, gain skills, achieve nationally recognised industry recognition, and build a network.

The Institute is not just about learning – it’s also about connecting people and communicating industry-specific information.
Learning from both your peers and experts through Learning Events with topical speakers is a fundamental part of an ICI experience. Information about these events and topical industry issues are provided to ICI Members.

So NOW is the time to roll up your sleeves and work at creating opportunities for your career.

You can kick-start your thinking about developing your Professional management goals. The Institute of Civil infrastructure has developed a simple easy to use CPD Self Evaluation Guide that you can help plan your own CPD Pathway.

*”The CPD Research Project Kingston University London