Two thousand miles of travel across the UK later, from Aberdeen to London, and Manchester to Cambridge, we are finally settling back down after a very busy summer. We have had the pleasure of undertaking numerous mock interviews for candidates sitting their ICE Professional Review in the Autumn 2017 or Spring 2018 sessions. In total, we worked with 14 candidates and we wish all of them the very best of luck. We also continued to mentor our graduates and assist them to develop their professional skills through supportively questioning them as they discussed their work and explored their learning. As usual, it was a pleasure working with them and they all rose to the challenge.
If you are in need of mentoring, or need a mentor for your staff, then please contact Andy Goodwin on 01246 807808 or email him at the address below. Andy will happily talk you through what we could do for you to add value to your existing arrangements and processes, without any obligation.Author Archives: Andy Goodwin
WE HAVE MOVED…….
After 5 years at Tapton Park Innovation Centre, we are pleased to announce that we have moved a few miles south to take an office in The Hub in Clay Cross. The new larger office can accommodate visiting tutors and staff, and there are on-site meeting and training rooms too.
Our new address is: The Hub at Gladstone Buildings, Broadleys, Clay Cross, Chesterfield S45 9JN.
We are retaining a presence at Tapton Park to the end of November, which remains our registered address for now. Any post sent there will still reach us rest assured.
COURSES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2017
We have a range of courses coming up towards the end of the year. They include:
- Pile Foundations – Principles and Practice (7 November)
- CDM for Designers and Clients (14 November)
- Mentoring for Engineering Geologists on Geotechnical Engineering (21 November)
- Slope Stability – Principles and Practice (28 November)
- Introduction to Reinforced Earth (5 December)
- The ICE Professional Review – Overview and Preparation (7 December)
- Introduction to Structural Design to the Eurocodes (12 December)
- Introduction to Structural Steelwork Design to EC3 (date TBC)
COURSES IN OCTOBER 2017
With summer over, and new graduates starting maybe, now is a good time to look at your staff development needs. We have numerous courses coming up in October, including:
Geotechnical Design to Eurocode 7, 3 October 2017 (£295 + VAT)
This course looks at the practical application of EC7 in design using worked examples and discussion sessions. It provides the equivalent of 1.5 days training in a ‘long day’ format.
Essentials of Project Management, 12 October 2017 (£220 + VAT)
Especially useful for those looking to sit their ICE review in 2018 and those new to project management, the course examines what constitutes good practice to deliver a successful project.
Retaining Wall Design – Principles and Practice, 17 October 2017 (£220 + VAT)
The analysis, design and performance of gravity and embedded retaining walls will be explored using worked examples and with reference to current design codes.
ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Written Exercise, 19 October 2017 (£220 + VAT)
Lead by an experienced ICE reviewer, the course is aimed at those sitting their professional review in 2018. It will explore what makes a good Written Exercise before discussing typical questions.
Each course is running in Chesterfield. Discounts are available for group bookings or delegates attending more than one course. Please call or email us to reserve your place on a course.
Remember too that all courses can be run bespoke for your company if there are sufficient numbers – just call us to see what we could do for you.
ADDITIONAL MOCK INTERVIEW COURSES COMMISSIONED
Surepath Training has had their commission from a large multi-national consultancy extended to run an additional mock interview course for their graduates pursuing a professional qualification in the Autumn review sessions with the ICE. The new course takes the total to four, all of which will run in August 2017. Each course involves the candidates submitting their draft Professional Report in advance, based on which the candidates undergo a mock review and then receive individual feedback on their report and their interview.
In addition, we have been commissioned to support a new mentee during his preparations for his professional review. This bespoke support package culminates with a mock interview and individual feedback, again in August.
Our Dr Andy Goodwin delivers each of the courses, based on his extensive mentoring experience and his role as a lead reviewer for the ICE. If you have a group of people needing training in this or any other skill area then contact Andy to discuss how he may be able to design a course / mentoring programme to suit your needs and add value to your service provision.
COURSES IN JULY & AUGUST 2017
The summer holiday season is almost us but there is still time to invest in yourself or your staff with some high quality training. We have numerous courses coming up in July and August that may be of interest, many of which are designed to be especially useful for those preparing to sit their ICE Professional Review in the Autumn session. The courses include:
- Ground Investigation Design to EC7 – The Essentials, half day course on 4 July (£125/delegate)
- Introduction to Health and Safety Law, day course on 11 July (£220/delegate)
- Mentoring for Civil Engineers on Engineering Geology, ‘long day’ course (equivalent to 1.5 days training) on 13 July (£295/delegate)
- The ICE Professional Review – Overview & Preparation, 25 July (£220/delegate)
- The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Interview, 8 August (£295/delegate; strict maximum of 4 delegates)
- Managing and Leading Teams, on 17 August (£220/delegate)
CPD IDEAS…..
Over the last month or so our Dr Andy Goodwin has been posting ideas for CPD on LinkedIn. The suggestions largely come from his experience as a lead reviewer with the ICE and are targeted in particular at graduates. However, everyone benefits from CPD so don’t be put off the ideas if you are not a graduate.
Ideas suggested so far include:
- The Brundtland report, “Our Common Future”: this includes the oft-quoted definition of sustainable development “meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow” (see page 16 para 27 of the pdf for the full definition “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”). Graduates pursuing professional qualification with the ICE should know this, and ought to read the report (or at least look over its 300 pages to get a sense of what it is all about).
- Research and assessment of the issues that can arise when using pyrite-rich fills below buildings and in earthworks. Two references are provided as starters in this field. The first link takes you to a pdf copy of an expert report on issues found affecting buildings in Ireland – it is 200 pages long so if pushed for time just read the Executive Summary! The second is a paper from 2011 on the implications of the phenomenon for earthworks that explains the science aspects as well as being practical.
- The subject of ethics and ethical behaviour regularly comes up both at ICE professional reviews and when Andy is mentoring graduates. It is an important topic that merits thought and deserves a perspective from outside the ICE, nut just from within. It is suggested that it is worth looking at the Royal Academy of Engineering work on this topic.
HOWARD MEDAL WINNER
We are very pleased and honoured to announce that a paper jointly published in 2016 by our Dr Andy Goodwin with Simon Ellis (Mott Macdonald), Liz Laycock (Sheffield Hallam University) and Chris Hurst (Mott MacDonald) has just been awarded the Howard Medal by ICE Publishing. The paper, entitled “Use of crushed brick in reinforced earth railway structures”, was published in ICE’s Construction Materials Journal. Targeted at improving the sustainability of the development, the work reported is based on a short practically-focused research project undertaken in association with Sheffield Hallam University with a clear focus on assessing the suitability of crushed bricks to be sourced from a viaduct for re-use as engineered fill. It shows the benefits that can be gained from integrating focused research into a large project.
More details of the project can be seen in the paper, which can be downloaded for free from http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/coma.15.00014. All of the authors are looking forward to attending the Awards Ceremony in October 2017 and to receiving their medals!
CONSTRUCTION SKILLS SHORTAGE – MORE TRAINING NEEDED
We would say more training is needed wouldn’t we? Well we have turned business away and advised people that a particular course is not the best option for them, as we believe in providing good advice and support. However we wanted to draw your attention to an article today (12 May 2017) in Development Finance Today that reports a growing issue in the construction industry. The article can be found in full here, with key excerpts reproduced below:
“The increases in workload are contrasted with a skills shortage, as 53% of respondents stated that a shortage of skilled labour is a key impediment to growth, up from 50% in the previous quarter….
….Improved education pathways and training could be the most effective policy response to alleviate labour supply pressures, with 59% agreeing with this idea, while 31% of contributors felt direct government subsidisation of training would be the most effective solution.”
We hope this provides you with some food for thought. If you wish to discuss how we could help you address your skill development needs then just call Andy Goodwin on 01246 807808 on a free no-obligation basis. Options available include a SWOT analysis of the skills you already have, provision of appropriate training, and / or mentoring and coaching support to staff to help them develop more effectively. We look forward to hearing from you.
CPD IDEA – BRUNDTLAND REPORT
We thought it worthwhile re-posting an update made to LinkedIn by our Andy Goodwin on 12 May 2017, as those not on LinkedIn may miss it:
“At the risk of making this a regular Friday afternoon post, I have another idea for some CPD over the weekend that is aimed particularly at graduates. As an ICE Reviewer I regularly hear graduates trot out the Brundtland definition of sustainable development when discussing Attribute 7, but few seem to have ever read the original report. If you haven’t then you ought to at least look over its 300 pages to get a sense of what it is all about. It is freely downloadable at http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf. It is not an easy read but it is worthwhile and you should at least find out where the Brundtland definition of sustainable development is set out. ”
Happy reading!