Competency Demonstration Report (CDR)
A Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) is required by Engineers Australia to assess the competency of an engineer with overseas qualifications not covered by the Washington Accord.
What is a Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) ?
It is not just one single written report.
A Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) is a collection of the following documents.
- the CDR Application Form.
- a signed declaration that the report is all your own work
- certified copies of your academic records
- your curriculum vitae (CV) or resume
- continuing profession development (CPD) listing
- International English Language Test (IELTS) Result
- 3 (three) career episode reports (CERs)
- Summary statement of competencies from the career episode reports
To get the full story on assessment of engineering qualifications go to the Engineers Australia website and download a .pdf copy of the Migration Skills Assessment booklet.
This booklet takes you through the whole process. Read it from cover to cover before you think about writing anything.
A tribus lingua we receive many requests for assistance in writing career episode reports (CERs). Sorry, we cannot do this. The CERs must be your own work. However, we will continue to answer your questions on the CDR preparation process via our blog comments.
Completing a Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) for Engineers Australia to assess overseas qualifications not covered by the Washington Accord is the first step in migration.
Writing a CDR – Secrets of Success
Preparing competency demonstration reports (CDRs) required by Engineers Australia for qualification assessment for engineers migrating to Australia baffles everyone.
People writing career episodes go into a state of mind-numbness at the seeming complexity of the task. They forget basic principles of report writing.
Let’s have a look at basic report writing.
Report Writing 101
The fundamentals of writing any report are:
understand the purpose of the report
provide the reader with the information they want
write in a language and style that the reader wants and will understand
Here is how these basic principles apply to writing career episode reports for a CDR application.
Purpose of the career episode reports
The purpose of the episode reports in a CDR is to demonstrate to Engineers Australia you can apply you knowledge and skills at a level of a professional engineer, technologist or associate. The occupation you have nominated for immigration purposes
In Engineers Australia language – demonstrate your competencies.
IT IS ABOUT
Providing detail of what you have done to show the Engineers Australia assessors you have the competencies given in the elements and sub-elements for the discipline and level you are applying for recognition as. These competencies are listed in the Appendices of the Engineers Australia Migration Skills Handbook.
IT IS NOT ABOUT:
- what the company you were employed by has done
- the size and market position of your company
- the technical details of the project or job you have done
- how well you were respected or your status
- your unsubstantiated claims of skills or knowledge
Before you select a topic for a career episode and start writing, read and study in detail the Engineers Australia competencies.
Provide Engineers Australia the information they want
Engineers Australia want details.
- Details of YOUR thought processes and actions
- Evidence of your actions and the results
- Details related to the competencies
- Details for all sub-elements of all elements of all competencies
It is not enough to say ” We overcame a number of problems” Provide details, such as. “After initial test of the prototype, the rate of response was outside the tolerances required in the design specification. I analysed the circuit design and could not identify a design error. I then devised a series of tests to identify the cause. The tests were selected to isolate the effects of the different input parameters and the operating environment. I identified that an input transducer was being affected by vibration. I researched catalogues and replaced the transducer with a more robust component. I redesigned the control circuitry to accommodate the characteristics of the new components. I retested the system and it worked within specification.( PE 2.1)
You must be able to relate every paragraph in you CDR to a competency element.
If you look at the competencies required in competency element PE 2.1 for professional engineers you will see there are four sub-elements To claim the element you need to give evidence of actions which tell of things you have done to meet every sub-element. In brief for PE 2.1 the sub-elements are about assessing assumptions, original analysis, multidisciplinary factors and relating cause and effects.
Analyse each paragraph to be sure it provides the assessors with evidence of things you have done to demonstrate you have all the competency elements and sub-elements.
Write in the language and style that Engineers Australia want
There is the English language, the Australian language, and Engineers Australia language. The Engineers Australian “dialect” for writing career episode reports is a prescriptive writing style. It has the following characteristics:
- It is personal. The most frequently used word must be “I”
- It is active. I planned, I calculated, I measured, I obtained feedback, I researched – I did it my way.
- It is simple and clear
- It is full of facts and detail – THERE SHOULD BE NO UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS
- Everything relates to engineering competencies
Many of your career episodes will be working as part of a team. That is fine. You need to demonstrate you can interact and provide leadership and obtain support in a team. Your episode must clearly write about what you did as part of the team. “I prepared the technical scope for the supply of a new heat exchanger…..”
What is an unsubstantiated claim ? It is simply a claim with no evidence: for example ” I developed a good working relationship with the production team.” You need to add evidence of the actions you took to develop this relationship to turn it from an assertion into evidence. This could be done by adding ”…..by providing written progress reports, holding weekly meetings, and getting their feedback on proposed design modifications.”
With every sentence you write, ask this question – “Do these words tell Engineers Australia about something I have done personally; actions which show them I have applied part(s) of elements of a competency?”
Don’t tell Engineers Australia what you know or how clever you are, tell them what you have done. This provides proof you can apply your knowledge: you have the competencies they are looking for. Engineers Australia assess your knowledge and skills from what you have done.
©Ian Little. All rights reserved, no part of this may be reproduced without permission rights from the publisher. Contact us www.tribuslingua.com.au
CDR Writing Style for Engineers Australia – An Example
A competency demonstration report (CDR) requires migrant engineers applying to Engineers Australia to write three career episode reports (CERs). Here is an example of writing style for a career episode report (CER). This example is taken from Engineers Australia website.
The purpose of the CDR is to demonstrate:
• how you have applied your engineering knowledge and skills;
• that such application meets the competency standards of the relevant occupational category in Australia.
Your CER is to be printed on A4 sheets, in English, in narrative form, using the first person singular and should describe the specific contributions you have made.
This example is taken from the Engineers Australia Handbook – Chartered Status A HANDBOOK FOR APPLICANTS. You can download an electronic copy of this handbook from the Engineers Australia website.
APPENDIX D
EXAMPLE OF CAREER EPISODE REPORT
(For additional example CERs please refer to http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/)
Professional Engineer
| Career Episode Title: Switch Board Upgrade Acme Widgets | Competency Element Claimed |
| Dates of Career Episode: 25.02.98 – 3.10.98 | |
| The project consisted of upgrading the main switchboard for the Acme Widget Company. It was my responsibility to determine the total power requirements for the new plant, calculate the power consumption of the existing plant and determine the maximum available power supplied through an existing board and the 11kV/415V transformer.After analysing the available information, I deduced that at least three alternatives for powering the new plant existed. A separate 11kV feeder could be brought onto the site to energise a new transformer and main board, the existing main board could be replaced with a new board or the existing main board could be upgraded. The last two options required the feeder cables to the main board to be upgraded. Technically, all three options were acceptable, although the first two allowed for a greater flexibility for expansion in future years.I prepared estimates for each of the options. The client engineer indicated that minimising the capital cost of the plant was of a higher priority than enhanced flexibility for expansion. On this basis, I issued a written recommendation indicating that, although other technical solutions existed, the upgrading of the main board involved the lowest capital cost and still provided the new plant with sufficient power requirements. The client accepted this option.I selected and sized power cables using Powerpack software. I simulated the limits in current-carrying capacity and length of runs on the basis of voltage drop using this tool. I also performed simulation of the maximum number of cables that could be installed on a single cable ladder and in underground conduits.For the PLC system I applied a functional specification already in use by our Company. A subsection of this specification listed requirements of a Factory Acceptable Test (FAT) to be conducted at the configuration supplier’s premises. I designed this test, the aim of which was to provide the consulting engineer with a reasonable confidence in the PLC software before it was installed and commissioned on-site. In a controlled environment and using the same PLC system hardware configuration to be installed on-site, various input signals were generated through a test rig to simulate field instruments. PLC outputs were recorded to verify the intended operation of the PLC program, as specified in the functional specification. During the test, a number of problems surfaced with the configuration. The client engineer was present at the test and, after consultation with him, I gave recommendations and directions to the PLC programmer to overcome perceived problems and improve operation of the plant. |
E3.1 – Determines engineering requirementsC2.3 – Implements planning and design processC2.4 - Reviews the design to achieve acceptance |
| Signature of Candidate: | |
| Candidate’s Verifier/s Name: Engineering Qualifications: (or Engineers Australia Membership Number) I verify that the above narrative is a true account of the candidates own work Signature: |
The elements claimed in the above example are for a chartered status application. The competency elements for qualifications assessment for migration are given in the Migration Skills Assessment Handbook.
Members of Engineers Australia are able to access further examples of CERs from the Engineers Australia website : http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
Understand Engineers Australia Code of Ethics when preparing CDRs
In preparing competency demonstration reports (CDR) when applying to Engineers Australia for qualification assessment, it will help if you are familiar with ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA – CODE OF ETHICS. Australian employers will expect you be understand and follow the behaviours in the code of ethics, even if you are not a member of Engineers Australia. The code of ethics reflects the expectations of Australian employers and the Australian public.
Obtain full details from Engineers Australia website : http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
Here is an extract from their handbook.
The members of Engineers Australia are committed to the Cardinal Principles of the Code:
• to respect the inherent dignity of the individual
• to act on the basis of a well informed conscience
• to act in the interest of the community, and
• to uphold its Tenets.
The Tenets of the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics are:
| 1 | members shall place their responsibility for the welfare, health and safety of the community before their responsibility to sectional or private interests, or to other members |
| 2 | members shall act honour, integrity and dignity in order to merit the trust of the community and the profession |
| 3 | members shall act only in areas of their competence and in a careful and diligent manner |
| 4 | members shall act with honesty, good faith and equity without discrimination towards all in the community |
| 5 | members shall apply their skill and knowledge in the interest of their employer or client for whom they shall act with integrity without compromising any other obligation to these Tenets |
| 6 | members shall, where relevant, take reasonable steps to inform themselves, their clients and employers, of the social, environmental, economic and other possible consequences which may arise from their actions |
| 7 | members shall express opinions, make statements or give evidence with fairness and honesty and on the basis of adequate knowledge |
| 8 | members shall continue to develop relevant knowledge, skill and expertise throughout their careers and shall actively assist and encourage those with whom they are associated, to do likewise |
| 9 | members shall not assist in or induce a breach of these Tenets and shall support those who seek to uphold them if called upon or in a position to do so |
When preparing your CDR and when applying for jobs on Australia, you need to be able to demonstrate you understand ethical standards. This is done through your actions. The important word assessors and employers want to hear is “I”. Your CDR will includes many statement similar to “I did it like this.”
