Benchmarking the implementation of continuing professional development in the Victorian construction industry

In the state of Victoria, the state government has taken a leadership position on the potential benefit of introducing voluntary continuing professional development (CPD) for registered building practitioners (RBPs) in the construction industry. Benefits are believed to accrue to the Victorian community through a more highly skilled and managed SME construction sector, improved quality buildings with fewer defects and greater efficiencies gained by a reduction in industry internal and external operating costs. This research has identified appropriate industry and community benchmarks to enable a quantification of the costs and benefits that result from this policy. These benchmarks will enable the policymaking body of Victoria, the Building Commission (BC) to evaluate the effects of the implementation of its policy and contribute to informing the debate about the merits and possible drawbacks of such a policy in the construction industry in Victoria.<br /><br />The proposed Victorian CPD policy will affect a whole industry sector. This pioneering policy approach is already being viewed as a touchstone for other jurisdictions in Australia and abroad. Consequently, this research project is considered by our industry partner to be pivotal in the leadership position that they are taking in Victoria. This investigation is being conducted by the research team under the auspices, guidance and with the cooperation of the Building Commission (BC) and the Building Practitioners Board (BPB) of Victoria. This policy research evaluation is necessary to assess the proposed implementation of CPD in the Victorian construction industry. The identification and creation of agreed and significant industry benchmarks are crucial to evaluating this policy initiative. These benchmarks will serve as independent yardsticks for assessing the impact of the new policy and are described and discussed in this paper.