… BUT OUR MENTORING SERVICES CONTINUE!

Though in our last post we noted that our last course of 2024 had been delivered, our mentoring services continue apace.  In fact, they continue every week throughout the year, with great candidate success rates.

For example. in November and December 2024, our Andy Goodwin had the pleasure of working with numerous mentees who are following a range of routes including:

  • Level 6 apprentices pursuing IEng
  • Graduates pursuing CEng via the Training Agreement route
  • Graduates pursuing CEng via the Mentor Supported route
  • Graduates pursuing CEng via the Career Appraisal route
  • Experienced engineers following the CEng Experiential Learning route and the Recognition of EEA professional qualifications route
Andy also undertook Chartered Professional Reviews for the ICE in the last session, and completed Level 3, 4, and 6 End Point Assessments. 

His experience in the reviews/EPAs processes adds great value to the mentoring services provided, as he knows the level that must be achieved to be successful.  All his mentees know the constructive challenges they face at their development review meetings, and the guidance and CPD suggestions made to help each progress as safely as possible.

If you require any mentoring support for you or your staff, feel free to call or email Andy for a free chat to ascertain your needs and the support that can be provided.

Don’t forget too that the ICE has a team of Membership Managers and Membership Development Officers who can provide support and guidance – you can get in touch with your local representative through the ICE’s Membership Support Centre.  

OUR LAST COURSE OF 2024 HAS BEEN DELIVERED…

Our last course of 2024 was held on 10 December.  The topic was lime and cement stabilisation, and as usual it went down very well, even though with it being so close to Christmas we did not get the usual uptake.

Thanks to Prof Paul Beetham for delivering the course, and for keeping it up to date with news of the latest research – we appreciate Paul sees the course as a knowledge transfer event as much as a training course.   Thanks of course also go to the delegates for their active participation in the discussions, exercises, and case study reviews.

We have already started a waiting list for a re-run in early 2025 so let Andy Goodwin know if you would like further information on it or want to be added to the list.

Our course calendar includes details of other courses coming up in 2025.  Just call or email us if you want to register on any of the courses.

   

L6 CIVIL ENGINEERING APPRENTICESHIP CHANGES

It was great to attend the ICE’s Apprenticeship Conference on 8 November.  We could only attend virtually this time, but it was an excellent event again.  Thanks to the ICE and Richard Davis for arranging it all.

There were again inspiring presentations by the 4 apprentices invited to speak.  One of the biggest takeaways for us though was the update on the new Level 6 Integrated Apprenticeships.  These are due to launch in 2025.  They will lead to some modifications to the current non-integrated degrees.  However, the apprentice will not be awarded their degree until they have undertaken their End Point Assessment.

The changes lead to some lively discussions on the proposed changes.  For example, how can an apprentice sit their IEng EPA before they formally have a degree?  There is a potential need for universities to source mentors to support the apprentices on their IEng EPA journey.

IFATE have not released the new apprenticeship yet as it is in development – see https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/civil-engineer-in-revision

The HE sector as the Training Providers are already planning for the changes.  The ICE are also preparing a position paper, which we hope will state how they are going to respond to the changes with regards the EPA and the award of the IEng.

Other key questions are how much of the mentoring support to apprentices will employers have to provide?  How much will the universities absorb?  Will the ICE retain their EPA role?  These uncertainties are of great interest to us as we are already mentoring numerous apprentices and we need to provide them with appropriate support.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out.

If you have any apprentices requiring mentoring, please feel free to reach out to our Dr Andy Goodwin.  He is an EPA Assessor with the ICE and understands the demands on apprentices. 

By the way, the photo below is used with permission of one of the current apprentices – great learning opportunities working on a complex bridge!

FINAL CALL – LIME AND CEMENT STABILISATION COURSE 10 DECEMBER

We still have a few places left for the course next week (10 December 2024) – please contact us asap if you would like to join us.  The course is very well regarded by past delegates, so if you or your team are involved in projects that involve lime and cement stabilisation or you need to expand your understanding and skills in earthworks to include soil stabilisation techniques, do get in touch.  

The course will be delivered at Ringwood Hall Hotel in Chesterfield by Dr Paul Beetham, who is an ICE appointed Panel Expert advising HS2 on soil stabilisation.  Paul has extensive experience of soil stabilisation working both for specialist contractors and as a consultant.

The course costs just £300 + VAT per delegate.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or to book a place on the course using our enquiries email address: enquiries@surepathtraining.co.uk

   

COURSES IN DECEMBER 2024 AND JANUARY 2025

We have a selection of open courses in the coming months that you may be interested in.  All are planned to run in Chesterfield:

    • G307 Theory and Practice of Lime and Cement Stabilisation on 10 December 2024: Are you or your team involved in projects that involve lime and cement stabilisation? Do you need to expand your understanding and skills in earthworks?  If so, this course may be for you.  Run by a Panel Expert, it will cover the basic principles of these forms of stabilisation and relate them to construction.  More information can be found here.  Cost £300 + VAT per delegate.
    • G206 Slope Stability – Principles and Practice on 14 January 2025.  This course aims to develop the abilities of the delegates to recognise and address slope stability issues.  It will look at how slopes stand up and why they fail, before looking at stability analysis.  It will conclude with a look at slope remediation.   
    • PR402 The ICE Professional Review – Mock Interview (maximum of 3 delegates) on 30 January 2025: This popular course is for ICE graduates preparing for their review.  It is recommended that it be taken prior to the submission of your Professional Report but it can be taken afterwards.  It will give you first-hand interview experience and you will receive individual feedback during and after the course.  Cost £425 + VAT per delegate.
Please contact us for more information or to book a place on any of these courses. Details of courses in following months can be seen in our 2025 calendar.      

LIME AND CEMENT STABILISATION COURSE

Are you or your team involved in projects that involve lime and cement stabilisation, such as HS2?  Do you need to expand your understanding and skills in earthworks to include soil stabilisation techniques?  If so, we are pleased to advise that our next course on lime and cement stabilisation is scheduled to run on 10 December 2024 at Ringwood Hall Hotel, an award winning venue in Chesterfield.  The course will be delivered as always by Dr Paul Beetham, who is an ICE appointed Panel Expert advising HS2 on soil stabilisation.  Paul has extensive experience of soil stabilisation working both for specialist contractors and as a consultant. The course costs just £300 + VAT per delegate.  Numbers are strictly limited to 15 so early booking is advisable.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or to book a place on the course using our enquiries email address: enquiries@surepathtraining.co.uk    

WEBSITE UPDATED WITH NEW COURSE INFORMATION AND CALENDAR

We are pleased to advise that the Surepath Training website has been updated to include a new list of courses and the calendar of courses for 2025.  Some of the pages have been tweaked too – please feel free to browse the refreshed site! If you see anything is of interest, please contact us for more information –  just email us using the Contact page.    

WEBSITE UPDATE AND NEWS ON SERVICE UPDATES FOR 2025….

If you have visited our site much, you will have seen it has not been updated since 2022.  That is all about to change so watch out for updates to the courses we offer, updates to prices (a little), and information on a new geotechnical mentoring programme. Some of you will be wondering why we let the site stagnate, which is a fair question.  It is quite simply because, post-covid, interest in open courses seemed to wane in favour of bespoke courses, and we have been busy delivering numerous such through word-of-mouth commissions.  We also increased our mentoring workload significantly in a similar way, so the website sat there. Looking forward, we are aiming to keep developing the bespoke course and mentoring element, and to build-up the open-course programme again.  Watch this space for website updates and more news on our services for 2025 in the coming days and weeks….. In the meantime, please still do contact us for more information on the courses and mentoring support services we offer – just email us using the enquiries link.    

UPCOMING COURSES IN OCTOBER 2022

We have a selection of open courses planned to run in Chesterfield in October that you may be interested in:
    • G202 Foundations and Building Settlement – Principles and Practice on 20 October 2022: This course aims to develop the abilities of the delegates in the design of shallow foundations and the prediction of settlements. Cost £250 + VAT per delegate.
    • PR402 The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Interview (maximum of 4 delegates) on 25 October 202: This course is for ICE graduates preparing for their review; it is recommended that this course be taken prior to the submission of CPR/IPR report as following feedback delegates may wish to amend their report.  Cost £335 + VAT per delegate.
    • G102 Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering (1.5 days equivalent) on 27 October 2022: This ‘long day’ course is mainly for engineering geologists and civil engineers that do not specialise in geotechnical engineering, and aims to develop a core understanding of how soils behave in principle and applies it to some geotechnical problems such as foundations.  Cost £335 + VAT per delegate.
Please contact us for more information or to book a place on any of these courses. Details of courses in November and December can be seen in our calendar, downloadable using the link on the home page.