Introduction In this document, the student will describe what he or she intends to do as an engineer candidate, to qualify to become a professional engineer. The strategy for continuing professional development (CPD) will be discussed for when the student is registered as a professional engineer. The student intends to become a professional engineer and ensure that the right amount of continuing professional development is carried out. There is a high standard of competence in the field of any engineering and one must meet these skills to uphold one's status as a professional or candidate engineer. A strategy will be planned as to how the student will achieve these competency standards as they begin and develop their career. This personal professional development plan is completely the candidate's responsibility and the candidate will be proactive, because carrying out the plan in this document will be extremely beneficial to the candidate's career. Candidate Engineer A candidate engineer is someone who has obtained a BEng degree or a Bachelor of Engineering .) degree from a university. You must register through ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) to be nominated as an engineer candidate in South Africa. This is the first stepping stone to becoming a professional engineer. Once the qualified person has registered as a candidate engineer, various requirements and procedures must be fulfilled before the candidate engineer can register as a professional engineer. (ECSA1, n.d.) Since the student plans to stay in South Africa after completing the degree, ECSA will be the right organization to register with. The ECSA candidate application form will be filled out and sent on the day the student receives his/her problems d...... middle of paper ......ch. The candidate must realize there is a social or cultural problem and know who is involved, address the problem professionally and resolve it appropriately. This outcome also requires the engineer to evaluate whether the solution to a problem is sustainable or simply a temporary solution. Learning outcome 7 concerns the rules that the engineer must respect to protect himself legally. He/she must “meet all legal and regulatory requirements and protect the health and safety of people in the course of his/her complex engineering activities” (SAIMechE, n.d.). When designing and troubleshooting solutions, the candidate must comply with applicable regulations and safety standards in that particular field. He/she must be able to identify risks associated with activities and be able to minimize and manage them appropriately. Learning outcome 8