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ProDev REPORTING PROGRAM

Interpretations

The Continuing Competency Committee (CCC) interprets ProDev. Interpretations include but are not limited to:

  • Classifying an activity into a particular category
  • Accepting an employment activity as Professional Practice
  • Approving or denying abatement

If the CCC interprets a professional development activity as inappropriate, the activity becomes ineligible for credit hours on the date it is published.

The interpretations are published for reference:


On June 22, 2021, the Continuing Competency Committee (CCC) approved a reduction to the ProDev reporting targets in 2021, for all practitioners. This decision was to acknowledge the difficulties many have expressed in meeting the targets during the COVID pandemic.

  • in 2021, only two categories are required, instead of three
  • any three-year evaluation period that contains the 2021 year will have the minimum PDH target reduced by 15 PDH

If these targets are still a problem for you, then an application for abatement may be requested.

On September 30, 2020, the Continuing Competency Committee (CCC) approved a reduction to the ProDev reporting targets in 2020, for all practitioners. This decision was to acknowledge the difficulties many have expressed in meeting the targets during the COVID pandemic.

  • in 2020, only two categories are required, instead of three
  • any three-year evaluation period that contains the 2020 year will have the minimum PDH target reduced by 15 PDH

If these targets are still a problem for you, then an application for abatement may be requested.

The CCC will, upon application from the member, consider requests for abatement for members who will be on parental leave. Abatement will generally consist of a reduction in the member's overall target for ProDev proportional to the time spent on leave.

For example, a member who is on leave for 12 months of the 3-year reporting period will generally be approved for a target of 160 professional development hours. If the leave is less than 6 months in a calendar year, members are expected to continue to meet the requirement of a minimum of 3 categories in each year.

The purpose of this interpretation is to assist practitioners in developing professional development plans in situations where the practitioner cannot meet the allowable maximum hours (150) in the Professional Practice category. This applies to practitioners who, after many years of practice, are reducing their practice significantly (commonly referred to as 'semi-retired'). It also applies to members who are unemployed for extended periods of time.

For all practitioners, the normal targets of the ProDev Program include a minimum of 90 hours in the following categories:

  • Formal Training
  • Informal Training
  • Participation
  • Presentations
  • Contributions to Knowledge

For practitioners who work full time continuously, this requirement stems from subtracting the allowance for Professional Practice (150 PDH) from the overall target (240 PDH).

Practitioners who are 'semi-retired' or unemployed for an extended period are expected to maintain this proportional amount of professional development activities in the five categories noted above. Therefore, applications for abatement due to reduced work should include a minimum target of 90 hours in the five categories other than Professional Practice.

The target of three categories per year still applies. If the practitioner participates in Professional Practice activities in a given year, then those activities count towards the target of three categories per year. If the practitioner does not practice at all in a calendar year, they are expected to demonstrate activities in three of the other categories.

The number of years of practice experienced by a practitioner impacts the length of time for which their abatement will be approved. A 'semi-retired' member who has several decades of experience will generally be approved for on-going abatement following the principles described above. At the other end of the spectrum, a practitioner with only one or two years of experience may only be approved for a limited duration of abatement. In all instances, however, abatement following the principles in this interpretation for a duration of up to two years will be administratively approved. Abatement applications for a period of time longer than two years will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Example of an acceptable abatement request for ProDev from a semi-retired practitioner:

Year 1*Year 2Year 3Total
Professional Practice20N/A
Formal Training44
Informal Training30303090
Participation3151533
Presentations
Contributions to Knowledge88
135**

* In year 1, the practitioner has satisfied the three-target category by including Professional Practice activities.

** For an application for abatement due to reduced work (semi-retired or unemployed), the amount of professional practice hours is ignored when tallying the total number of activities. This amount should exceed 90.

There are instances where a practising member or licensee's record of Professional Development for a given three-year period is not compliant with the targets of the ProDev Program. A three-year record is non-compliant if:

  • the overall credited hours total falls short of the three-year target (normally 240), or
  • the number of categories for any calendar year falls short of the target (normally three categories per year)

In some cases, the shortfall from the normal targets may have been approved by the Continuing Competency Committee if the member or licensee had foreseen the circumstances leading to the shortfall and had applied for abatement. A common example for applying for abatement is where a member or licensee will be on parental leave. This policy is meant to address situations where there is no valid reason for the shortfall.

It is worth noting that a member or licensee's record may be non-compliant even in instances where the member or licensee has been granted abatement for the given period. For example, a member or licensee whose three-year target was reduced to 160 hours for the period of 2013-2015 would be non-compliant if their record indicates less than 160 hours for that period.

If it is the first instance of non-compliance for a member or licensee, the member or licensee may submit an application for abatement that acknowledges the shortfall and which indicates that the member or licensee will endeavor to meet the targets of the ProDev Program for subsequent reporting periods. The Continuing Competency Committee may then approve the application for abatement. However, if the shortfall is significant, the abatement will not be granted.

If it is the second instance of non-compliance for the member or licensee, or if the shortfall is significant, the member or licensee will be administratively suspended in accordance with Part 4.1 of the Act. To have the suspension lifted, the member or licensee must participate in a minimum of 15 hours in at least two of the following five categories over a period of time that does not exceed four months:

  • Formal Training
  • Informal Training
  • Participation
  • Presentations
  • Contributions to Knowledge

Once the member or licensee has successfully completed the 15 hours of activities within a four-month period, he or she must contact Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba to provide a record of the activities and request to have the suspension lifted.

A significant shortfall is defined as being:

  • more than 10% below the overall three-year total target, or
  • more than one category short of the target for any calendar year

For example, a member or licensee who has not been granted abatement would have a significant shortfall if they've been credited less than 216 total hours for the three year period or if they've recorded only one category for any of the three years.

NOTE: This policy does not apply to instances where a member or licensee has simply failed to record all of their activities. If that is the case, a member or licensee simply needs to record their eligible activities to demonstrate compliance. Once the member or licencee's record is up-to-date and demonstrates compliance with the ProDev Program, the member or licensee will no longer be suspended.

(Approved by the Continuing Competency Committee - November 2, 2016)

The CCC will consider applications for abatement requesting a reduction in the number of categories in a given a year. This interpretation was made in light of the fact that ProDev identifies a potential for abatement in the number of hours only, which would have had the potential to create a situation of non-compliance for members who are unable to participate in continuing professional development activities over a given calendar year.

The committee agreed that exemption from ProDev will be allowed where the member is reporting to another acceptable reporting program, regardless of their home province, in accordance with Section 2.2 of ProDev.

The CCC recognizes the valuable contributions of RRC instructors to the engineering community and approves the work of an RRC engineering technology instructor for credit in the Professional Practice category of ProDev.


What if I am unsatisfied with an interpretation?

If you are a member who is unsatisfied with an interpretation given by the CCC, you may submit a request for reconsideration. The CCC may investigate with other resources while reconsidering the interpretation. The CCC will send you the new interpretation and will publish it on the website (below). If re-interpretation does not resolve your concern, you may request advice in accordance with By-law 15.2.9.