Yudu - RIBA September 2011

Intelligence | Practice

CPD

As the RIBA simplifies CPD’s core curriculum Eleanor Young talks to those involved in planning and providing CPD outside traditional practice to find out what they rate

KEEP ON LEARNING Colin Haylock

Planner and architect, Haylock Planning and Design

COLIN HAYLOCK left Ryders just two months ago and is still getting to grips with planning his CPD as an independent consultant. As a member of the RIBA, RTPI and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation he is subject to three sets of CPD requirements. His early involvement with the

Chris Woods Research and development director, Wates

‘THE BIGGEST issue for us is staying close to the challenges we face on the ground,’ says Chris Woods. ‘It is important that CPD is not seen as a box ticking exercise.’ He and Wates’ design managers still use manufacturer’s CPD seminars to keep up to date on changes to materials and products but what interests him most is strategic themes. ‘We focus on what makes a difference to customers. The value creating aspect is most important,’ he says. His work as research and development director at Wates is aimed at this – finding an outlet in the training that is offered to company design managers and essentially becoming his CPD. He is exploring designing to cost rather than

costing a design. Just as in manufacturing, he explains, this was the way the iPad was designed. If you are working on new themes you are, by virtue of that, learning a huge amount, even simply in background reading.

Like others outside standard architectural practice Woods can struggle with covering CPD core topics. ‘Different things are important,’ he says. But there are relevant nuggets, for example on contracts: ‘We are working on advanced contract law to develop new ways of working with different organisations as a group that goes beyond just one project.’ One result, with Capita, has been developing a cell block as a product for the Ministry of Justice. Woods, visiting professor at the University

of Salford, feels strongly that engagement with universities helps get a grip on challenges far ahead of that in the commercial environment – dealing with the professionals of the future and the research projects that will shape it. He is also on the board of the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network. ‘That keeps me in touch but gives me a different view, particularly around materials and what to incorporate in buildings in the future,’ he says. ‘These external aspects help keep you up to speed on technologies.’

Chris Woods worked with new forms of contract to produce the A9 – this project with Capita to deliver cell block ‘products’ to the Ministry of Justice.

RTPI (where he takes up the presidency next year) included work on setting up its obligatory CPD. This is based on a personal development plan in which members establish how they can support what they are doing or wish to do in the future. They are judged by whether the plan is reasonable and how they perform against it. It is a contrast to the existing RIBA scheme. ‘For people like me the RIBA

CPD is quite difficult. Core subjects can be completely irrelevant to how I practise,’ says Haylock. ‘And how do I access those two mandatory health and safety hours? My CPD club costs £396 + VAT for a year, but I’ve only seen one useful event. ‘I struggled with core CPD as I was doing specialist work. I rarely went on a construction site and for me procurement and contracts were about other consultants.’ At Ryder CPD is organised in house. ‘I have found myself thinking we need to work with larger practices opening their resources to others – not just for CPD, also to bring big boys into contact with those in small practices in a lonely environment,’ says Haylock.