Introduction

One consequence of the increasing pace of development and change in today’s industrial and commercial world is the decreasing shelf-life of individual professional expertise. If they are to avoid reaching their professional ‘sell-by date’ prematurely, individuals thus need to keep abreast of the latest technology and business practices. Whatever their disciplines, professionals in the minerals industry are no exception to this.

Career Development

Your career is likely to be determined by your job performance, your decisions and your action. There is always an element of opportunity in career development, i.e. being in the right place at the right time for the right job. Planning and personal initiative, however, can play a major part in creating opportunities for development and advancement. In other words, pro-action can be more effective than reaction

Professional Development

PD may be pursued by undertaking or participating in:

Post-Qualification
e.g. higher degrees by coursework and/or research studies.

Distance Learning
e.g. courses provided by universities, further education colleges and professional bodies.

Short Courses
organised by the IoM3 and other professional institutions or bodies, universities, colleges, employers and other short-course providers.

Conferences and Symposiaorganised by the IoM3 and other professional institutions or bodies, trade associations and other industry related bodies.

Private Study/Self-Directed Learning
e.g. learning foreign languages, developing new workplace skills and reading publications and learned articles for purposes of enhancing particular skills and competencies.

Technical Authorship
e.g. the preparation of papers and/or articles that are accepted for presentation at conferences and seminars or for publication in learned society journals.

Committee Work
e.g. within the IoM3 or other professional institutions etc.