The Five Stage Framework for Life Long Learning in Engineering Education and Practice

This paper examines and reports on a five-stage framework for lifelong learning in engineering education and practice. The paper draws on the authors’ experiences in their universities and working with the local communities. The five stages are: Pre-employment (undergraduate stage, including the need for continuously updated CV); Early Employment; Mid-Career Employment; Later Employment (usually at the more senior level of the employment and preparing for up-skilling after retirement and Post Employment (retired). The paper discusses and justifies, for each of the different stages, the appropriate activities such as involvement with professional societies, updating, both in breadth and depth, technical knowledge and soft skill, utilising SFIAplus or similar frameworks, the use of webinars and MOOCs, also the changing role of mentors, from mentee to mentor, throughout the stages. The involvement at various stages of related voluntary activities such as "giving back" to the profession are considered.