Engineering Staff Training and Development Checklist

Retrieve last cycle's individual development plan, mid-year check-in notes, and the most recent annual review from the personnel record. Note any goals that carried over unfinished and any commitments the firm made (conference attendance, software license, mentor pairing) so they don't get re-promised this cycle.

Verify FE / EIT / PE status against state board records — not just what the resume says. Career stage drives which sections of this plan apply: EITs need supervised-experience tracking and an exam target; licensed PEs need PDH compliance and ethics PDH; senior PEs may need leadership exposure beyond technical depth.

Define the year's measurable targets — e.g., 15 PDH minimum for the renewal cycle, one ethics PDH, one industry conference, two new software competencies. Targets should map to discipline-specific codes the engineer touches (ASCE 7, ACI 318, AISC 360, NEC, ASHRAE 90.1) rather than generic skill labels.

Confirm the engineer has passed the NCEES FE exam and holds an EIT or EI certificate from the state of practice. Some states require the certificate before supervised experience hours count toward licensure — verify against the state board's specific rule, not assumption.

Identify the supervising PE of record and confirm they accept responsible-charge supervision for the year. Track project assignments and hours in the format the state board accepts (NCEES Record, state experience verification form). Most states require four years of qualifying engineering experience under a licensed PE before exam eligibility.

Pick the discipline-specific PE exam (Civil, Structural, Mechanical-HVAC, Electrical Power, Environmental, etc.) and target test date. NCEES offers most exams via CBT year-round; the 16-hour Structural (SE) is offered twice yearly. Reserve study time and any firm-paid review course in the budget now.

PDH requirements vary widely — most states require 12 to 30 PDH per renewal cycle, with several mandating ethics PDH and a few mandating state-specific laws and rules content. Pull the current rule from the state board site, not from a stale internal doc; rules change.

Enter PDHs already earned this cycle into the tracking system (RedVector, PDH Express, internal tracker). Most state boards audit a percentage of renewals — if certificates aren't filed contemporaneously they'll be lost when needed.

Book the ethics PDH early in the cycle — it's the most-forgotten requirement and the most common cause of an audit-driven CE shortfall. NSPE and most state societies offer accepted ethics courses; some states require state-specific ethics content rather than generic.

Compare current project demands against the engineer's demonstrated competencies — software (Revit, Civil 3D, ETABS, RAM, HEC-RAS, ETAP), code knowledge (current adopted IBC edition, ASCE 7-22 vs. -16, ACI 318-19), and analysis types (seismic, fault current, hydraulic). Be specific about the gap; "needs more structural training" is not actionable.

Match the gap to a concrete training: vendor-led (Autodesk, CSI, Bentley LEARN), trade-association (ACI, AISC, ASHRAE Learning Institute, NSPE PE Institute), or paired in-house mentorship on a live project. Confirm the training counts for PDH where applicable so it earns double duty.

Pair with a senior engineer or principal who is not the direct supervisor. Cross-discipline pairings (structural EIT mentored by a civil PE, mechanical EIT mentored by an electrical PE) often produce broader exposure than same-discipline pairings.

Add the engineer to scoping calls, kickoff meetings, and owner workshops on at least one active project. Project-management exposure is what closes the gap between calc-cranking and being a PM-ready engineer; it cannot be taught from a course.

Pull the year's PDH log, training certificates, conference attendance, project assignments, and any mentor feedback into a single packet for the review meeting. Note variances against the IDP targets set at kickoff so the discussion is concrete.