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CPD Employer of the Year Entry Form
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Organisation’s Official Name:
Project Title:
IS YOUR ORGANISATION WORTHY OF NATIONAL RECOGNITION?
For more than a decade now, the Engineers Ireland ‘CPD Employer of the Year Award’
has served as the national barometer for ongoing advances in how engineering-led
organisations in Ireland learn, adapt, innovate and succeed.
When the Engineers Ireland CPD Employer programme was first launched in 1999, nobody
could have guessed just how far the scheme would come. Today, CPD Accredited
organisations, right across every sector of the economy in Ireland, the CPD framework
provides an invaluable tool for top teams to turn strategic plans into worthwhile actions.
The CPD framework provides an holistic architecture for organisations, of all sizes, to first
invest in good, Continuing Professional Development systems and processes, in order to
build organisation-wide CPD practices that are truly transformational.
The aim of the awards in 2017 is to continue to recognise those organisations that have
made the journey to establishing and benefitting from transformational CPD systems and
processes, in line with steps-changes in their operating environments.
Given the outstanding level of winners in years past, we want to keep the bar high so that
exemplary case studies can be recognised. Winners will be selected on the basis that their
understanding and application of CPD is exceptional, and, that they have, as a result,
realised exceptional business accomplishments and/or service-level transformations.
To enter, we are asking each Employer to take their own unique situation as the context.
Every CPD Accredited Employer has an equal opportunity to highlight why their CPD
systems and their bottom-line outcomes are worthy of recognition from Ireland’s national
professional body for engineers and engineering.
Entries must be in by Friday, May 26th 2017. Our judges will then short-list the best-of-thebest case studies and may seek further information. Finalist organisations will then be asked
to present their case-study at the CPD Employer of the Year Excellence Awards final event
on Wednesday, October 4th. The winner will be announced at our Engineering Excellence
Awards in November 2017, a suitably prestigious occasion for such a major award.
I do hope your organisation will enter this year. We know our CPD Accredited Employers
have certainly a lot to be proud of.
DEE KEHOE
CPD Director, Engineers Ireland
CPD Employer of the Year Entry Form
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Organisation Details
Key Contact Person:
Contact’s Job Title:
Contact’s Telephone Number:
Contact’s email:
Name of Entry Sponsor:
Sponsor’s Job Title: (e.g. your MD/CEO etc)
Organisation’s website:
Private Sector:
Public Sector:
Other (please state):
Total number of staff employed in Ireland:
Total number of engineers employed in Ireland:
Total number of technicians employed in Ireland:
Key Contact Person’s signature:
Date:
Sponsor’s signature:
Date:
CPD Employer of the Year Entry Form
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Quick Summary
1.
For the judging panel, please synopsise your Entry (200 words or less).
This synopsis should outline;
 A brief explanation of the particular challenge faced
 The actual achievement(s) or transformation made
 What strategic CPD enablers were used and why
2.
For Press Release purposes please synopsise your Entry (75 words or less).
Note: Irish media is interested in news that is relevant to Irish operations. The press release
should be newsworthy and inform media about how CPD initiatives have enabled your
business in achieving success such as new market entry, jobs growth or retention, securing
domestic/international contracts, improved services provision etc.
CPD Employer of the Year Entry Form
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Section A
The Story of your Accomplishment
A1. THE CONTEXT
From the perspective of an engineering-centric organisation, please describe the context
(economic, technological, environmental etc.) your organisation was operating in and the key
challenges which your organisation faced as a result (within the last 3-4 years).
A2. THE PLAN
Describe the Strategic Plan which your organisation formed in order to tackle these issues
(A1), indicating 3 to 5 high-level strategic ‘thrusts’ and associated KPIs/targets/metrics which
were agreed by your organisation.
A3. THE RESULTS
Describe how this strategic plan (A2) was then successfully executed, detailing the specific
accomplishment or achievement which was brought about as a result.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For private sector organisations, measures should include financial business benefits and
could also include new customers, new markets, new product/process innovations, successful collaborations,
overcoming obstacles etc. Winning entries will be distinguished by evidence linked to sustaining or creating jobs.
For public sector/not-for-profit organisations, measures should include financial results where applicable to the
efficient use of limited resources/costs savings and could also include the realisation of new services,
restructuring solutions, social impact etc. Winning entries will be distinguished by evidence linked to enabling
society and/or private-sector businesses to function better.
Section B
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Your use of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
B1. Strategic CPD Advancement
The ‘Primary’, ‘Advanced’ and ‘Transformational’ bands which make up the Engineers
Ireland national CPD Accredited Employer standard, present grounded and applicable
options for improvement, allied to the specific business plans and strategic ‘thrusts’ you
documented in Section A2.
See Appendix A for some helpful examples to stimulate your thinking in this regard.
B2. The involvement of your engineers and technicians
Detail how your engineers and technicians took a leading role in driving this strategic
transition to a transformational level of CPD, in your organisation.
Section C
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Outstanding Example
In conclusion, based on your own organisation’s size, sector, strategy and resources,
summarise why your Case Study is worthy of national recognition.
Appendix A
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CPD as a strategic enabler: Helpful Examples
Case Study 1: A start-up firm in the alternative energy sector
A strong focus on more strategic CPD was needed to transition from being purely a R&D
company to a much more commercially-focussed organisation.
The start-up company adhered to the Engineers Ireland CPD framework to put in place all
the basic required CPD systems and processes for accreditation i.e. satisfied all elements of
Criterion 1 and satisfied Criteria 2-7 at minimum Level A i.e. all ‘Primary’ CPD elements.
Knowing the value of lessons learned to a new operation, the top management team then
made the strategic decision to invest in their knowledge management capability, shifting
from 6A to 6C, in the process. At the same time, a strategic overview of key research links
with a number of Universities globally led to a gradual move from 7A to 7B. The company
has excelled, winning a number of major international contracts, with exciting plans for
further growth.
Case Study 2: A long-established engineering consultancy company
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The company recognised that a new approach was required to adapt and alter the
company’s business and to place an increased emphasis on international sales. A Strategic
Plan was developed to scale for international growth.
CPD played a fundamental part in the implementation of the strategic plan. The organisation
developed an understanding that to make the required step-change to become an
international player, new job performance behaviours would have to be clearly defined and
communicated to all staff.
Beginning with all basic required CPD practices (as above) the company then strategically
transformed from 3A to 3C, by implementing, tracking and measuring personal development
plans (PDPs) with Learning Outcomes, linked to the company’s short-term mission. The
strategic shift, through CPD, led to several multimillion dollar contracts being won and today
the organisation is prioritising building capacity from 6A to 6B.
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Case Study 3: A hi-tech manufacturer in the biomed sector
Having achieved excellence in matters of quality, cost control and compliance, this highly
successful multinational manufacturer had CPD systems and practices structured to match
its high-compliance requirements in a regulated sector when it first gained CPD
Accreditation. The audit report encouraged the top management team to examine the effect
its all-pervasive ‘total compliance’ culture was having on learning and development. When
they did so, they got a surprise. Levels of quality and compliance were very high but levels
of creativity and innovation were not, leading to a dearth of new products in the pipeline.
The new CPD strategy for the organisation prioritised good practices in 2A, in order to
balance high compliance levels with high levels of creativity. With ‘Creativity’ firmly
embedded as a required behavioural standard, the organisation’s focus is now on
transforming this capability from 2A to 2C over the coming years to ensure flexibility and
adaptability among engineering staff.
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Appendix B
Rules of Entry 2017
1. Organisations wishing to participate must complete this entry form and return it to
DEE KEHOE in Engineers Ireland by email, no later than noon on Friday, May
26th, 2017. All entries will then go directly to the judging panel.
2. For all sections of this document please feel free to expand fields to write as
much as you feel is necessary (unless maximum wording is stated). Feel free
also to add additional information / appendices that will support your entry.
3. The CPD Employer of the Year Excellence Awards competition is open to
Engineers Ireland CPD Accredited Employers only. The decision of the
judges is final.
4. Last year’s winner is not eligible to win the Award for 2017 and 2018.
5. In the event that additional detail is required, the Judging Panel may invite
entrants to take part in an interview / phone interview prior to the Final.
6. Engineers Ireland reserves the right to publish the names of award winners.
7. Shortlisted organisations will be required to present their case study entry on
Wednesday 4th October in Engineers Ireland; this will form part of the judging
process.
8. The winner will be announced at our Excellence Awards event in November
2017.
NOTE on CONFIDENTIALITY: All material received as part of entry submissions is treated
as strictly confidential and private. Post-competition publicity will be arranged in tandem with
the winning organisations so that sensitive information and intellectual property is afforded
the highest degree of protection.
TIP: We recommend you read through this form in its entirety first before beginning to
complete it.
The form is structured to avoid any repetition of information.
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Key Dates
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:
CPD EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS FINAL:
ENGINEERS IRELAND EXCELLENCE AWARDS:
FRIDAY 26th MAY 2017
WEDS, 4th OCTOBER 2017
NOVEMBER 2017
NEED ASSISTANCE?
HAVE A QUESTION?
DEE KEHOE 01 6651347 [email protected]
KELLY SCOTT 01 6651328 [email protected]
EOIN O’DWYER 01 6651343 [email protected]
OFFICE USE ONLY:
Reference Number:
Date Received:
PLEASE RETURN BY NOON FRIDAY, MAY 26th, 2017 to:
DEE KEHOE, CPD Director
E-MAIL: [email protected]
CPD Employer of the Year Entry Form
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