The Institute of Quarrying (IQ) has supported the professional development of people working within the mineral products sector for more than 100 years. Lifelong learning is at the heart of IQ, which is why, like many professional organisations, it encourages members to actively participate in continuing professional development (CPD).
The turbulence of the past nine months has inspired the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) and its regional branches to adapt and adopt new technologies to continue to connect with over 3,500 members, delivering regular virtual networking opportunities and providing online access to continuing professional development (CPD).
One of the many benefits of being an IQ member is access to advice, best practice and industry resources. These resources exist in different formats and include everything from textbooks to factsheets, videos to webinars through to industry articles and case studies.
The IQ branch community network has been a benefit of IQ membership from the earliest days of the Institute’s history. By 1920 there were certainly already branches operating in both North and South Wales along with the West, North and Midlands regions of England.
This will be a year that few of us will ever forget. So much of what we have known has gone out of the window, not just at work but in our social and personal lives too. We have had to find new ways of being engaged and connected with ourselves and others.
Leadership. There are many discussions and activities across the quarrying and mineral extractives sectors around the term, but what does it actually mean? And how is it best to deliver it within an organisation? There is no single right answer for showing leadership but a constant theme in all cases is the need for those in leadership positions to lead by example.
When Adrian Wilkinson and Adrian Charters, the directors of Land and Minerals Consulting Ltd (LMCL), took the decision to attend the Institute of Quarrying’s (IQ) Centenary Conference last year, little did they realise that within six months their business would be one of the lead adopters of IQ’s Centennial Pledge.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is one of those things in business that often forms part of a wider conversation. It is raised at annual reviews, explored as a means of enabling promotion or introduced as an incentive to keep staff onside. The reality is CPD is so much more; it is embedded in everyday working life, an invisible force that drives us onto bigger and better things in our careers.
Just over a year into his tenure, the Institute of Quarrying’s (IQ) chief executive officer is using the industry’s premiere biannual showcasing event, Hillhead 2018, as a platform from which to share his vision for IQ and what it should be delivering for its members and the wider industry.
The importance of continuing professional development (CPD) for employees in the mineral extractive sector should not be underestimated – it is a career-long obligation for practicing professionals and ensures continued professional competence and ‘fitness for purpose’.