If you are an engineer looking forward to settling down in Australia, you must be aware of the documentation and the migration skill assessment process that needs to be done. Competency Demonstration Report or CDR is one such important document that the engineers have to submit to Engineers Australia. This document is proof of their competencies and that they are capable of landing a job in the country.
The process of writing the CDR Writing can be quite overwhelming as there are a lot of rules and regulations to be followed. You must be familiar with the structure and have eloquent writing skills so that you can present your capabilities clearly in the report. To help you out in preparing your CDR on your own here are some of the best tips.
Understanding the Purpose of CDR
Do you know why CDR is such an important document? Or who needs to prepare the CDR? Well, you must understand the main purpose of the document.
Engineers who are willing to immigrate to Australia from countries that are not a member of the Sydney, Washington or the Dublin Accord are required to submit the CDR or Competency Demonstration Report. This report includes documents that showcase the engineering skills of the applicant. The Engineers Australia assess the report with respect to the Australian standards and a positive assessment means that your skills are comparable to those of the Australia engineers.
Getting familiar with the CDR Requirements
So now that we know that the CDR is the key to immigration to Australia, we must understand the requirements of the document. The CDR must include the following documents:
- The application form
2. CPD or Continuing Professional Development List
3. 3 Career Episodes
4. 1 Summary Statement
5. CV or Curriculum Vitae
6. Copies of academic records
7. A disclaimer stating that the report has been written by the applicant
8. Test Result of English Language
You can find out details about each of the documents in the Migration Skill Assessment (MSA) Booklet. Here we will discuss the three main components of the CDR – Career Episodes, CPD and Summary Statement.
You must also be aware of the Occupational Categories mentioned in the MSA Booklet and the various competencies stated for your Occupational Category.
Writing the Career Episodes
A Career Episode, as the name suggests is written to demonstrate an episode of your career where you gained and used your engineering knowledge. You can talk about a project in your career in which you have played a significant role. A career episode is an essay of 1000 to 2500 words and you are required to prepare 3 such episodes.
What to include in the career episode?
A career episode has 4 sections. You must understand what to write in each section.
- Introduction – It states the basic information about the title of the project, your position in the project, its duration and the name of the organization.
2. Background – It describes the context of the project and gives some background information about it.
3. Personal Engineering Activity – It describes your role in the project and the work that you did in order to achieve the goals.
4. Summary – Here you will summarise the whole career episode stating all the engineering competencies.
End your career episode by stating your achievements and state the final outcomes of your project.
Preparing the Summary Statement
A summary statement is a cross-reference to the career episodes. As you can guess from the name, you do not have to present any new information here, just a summary of the career episodes written by you. It contains a tabular structure in which all the competencies mentioned in the MSA booklet for an occupational category are referenced from the career episode mentioned by the applicant.
In order to prepare the summary statement right, you must number the paragraphs in your career episodes. Then, you can mention the paragraph number in front of the competency that it refers to, in the summary statement.
Continuing Professional Development
CPD or Continuing Professional Development list is a collection of all the activities that you have pursued in order to enhance your engineering skills and the technical developments in your engineering field. It is just an A4 size sheet long document that can include the following:
- Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training attended
2. Manuals, Books and Journals studied
3. Volunteering work
4. Technical Materials prepared
What makes a Good CDR?
We now know what to include in a CDR and how to prepare the various sections of the CDR. Here are some smart tips that will help you in preparing a top-notch CDR.
1. Stay True – Do not mention anything that you have not done or you have no proof of. Mentioning fake information in the CDR can result in rejection if the assessing authority somehow finds out the truth. All of this can affect your immigration process.
2. The Choice of Career Episodes – Be wise as you choose the career episodes. Choose the competencies that seem obvious with your engineering profession. Choose the competencies that demonstrate the talent in you. If you have been a minor part of a project but did not contribute much, do not mention that in your career episode.
3. Skip the Unnecessary Details – You need to be clear and concise in the CDR. Do not mention the details that are not required. Be straightforward and take care of the word limit as you prepare the career episodes.
4. No Plagiarism at All – If your CDR is found plagiarised, it will be rejected at the same time. Hence, do not copy and paste the content in a CDR template that you found on the internet or mention a project that you read online.
Hope these tips will help you create the perfect CDR. Your CDR can change your career drastically so be meticulous while preparing it. Make sure your report adheres to the standards of Engineers Australia and we are sure you will receive a positive assessment result.
