2017-11-20
Announcement on New CPD Policy for BEAM Pro and BEAM Affiliate (Effective from 1 January 2018)
With a view to enhancing flexibility for BEAM Practitioners, the HKGBC has revised the CPD policy and qualification maintenance requirements for BEAM Pro and BEAM Affiliate. Feedback collected from the stakeholder engagement exercise conducted in July has been incorporated into the new policy.
The New CPD Policy for BEAM Pro and BEAM Affiliate will be effective from 1 January 2018 (Monday).
There are two major changes:
- Mandatory and General CPD hours are combined, and
- An annual qualification renewal fee is introduced.
For further details, please click the respective links below:
- CPD Hour Requirement
- BEAM Plus Version Upgrade Training
- Annual Qualification Renewal Fee
- Rules of Conduct
- Pricing of CPD Event
- CPD Interest Group
A series of information sessions concerning the new CPD policy have been conducted recently. You may also download the presentation slides for reference:
Download HERE
Part 1: CPD Hour Requirement
Mandatory and General CPD requirements will be combined. BEAM Pro will need to submit 15 CPD hours every year, while BEAM Affiliate will need to submit 6 CPD hours every year. All practitioners will need to submit their CPD records at their Individual Accounts by 31 December every year.
On or before
 |
BEAM Pro | BEAM Affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| 15 CPD hours every year |
6 CPD hours every year |
The HKGBC recognises CPD in different forms. The CPD activities can be live and online seminars related to green buildings, organised by the HKGBC, BSL, or other companies and institutions. Technical visits, study and research, project experience, etc., are also regarded as CPD activities. BEAM Pro can achieve their annual CPD requirements in a flexible manner.
| Type | Description of CPD Activities |
|---|---|
| 1 |
Attend or be a speaker in any green building-related training/seminars/events  If you see this icon on the event flyer, the HKGBC will take care of your CPD record for that event. The CPD record will be automatically uploaded to your Individual Account around a week after the event. |
| 2 | Conduct research/study OR Write papers related to green buildings |
| 3 | Attend HKGBC/BSL committee/working group meetings OR Act as a jury member in competitions organised by HKGBC/BSL |
| 4 | Participate in BEAM Plus projects (Maximum hours that can be claimed for - BEAM Pro: 7.5 hours per year; BEAM Affiliate: 3 hours per year) |
All other conditions, including carrying over excess CPD hours, making up oustanding CPD hours, conditions of suspension and termination, remain unchanged.
Transitional Arrangement
-
After the last day of 2017 CPD Record Submission on 31 December 2017, we will perform suspension check and combine your numbers of Mandatory and General CPD hours.
To recognise your efforts in attending the Mandatory CPD events, your net of excess Mandatory CPD hours (after covering the outstanding General CPD hours) will be multiplied by 1.2 then carried forward to 2018. Some examples are illustrated at right.
-
For BEAM Pro who are currently being suspended, if, after combining your numbers of Mandatory and General CPD hours, the number of CPD hours submitted exceeds the minimum CPD requirement under new CPD policy on 1 Jan 2018, the credential will be reinstated automatically.
Part 2: BEAM Plus Version Upgrade Training (for BEAM Pro Only)
BEAM Plus assessment tools undergo regular update to keep pace with the latest development. To equip BEAM Pro with the latest knowledge in BEAM Plus assessment tools, whenever newer tool versions are launched, BEAM Pro are required to take the Version Upgrade Training to acquire the specialties in newer version of BEAM Plus assessment tool. The certificate of specialty acquired can be downloaded in BEAM Pro Individual Account after the training.
If a BEAM Pro does not take the version upgrade training, the version number under his name in the Practitioners' Directory will remain to be the old version.
EB, BI, ND upgrade trainings are avaliable in the format of online videos. Please check at BEAM Society's Online Training Portal.
Part 3: Annual Qualification Renewal Fee
The HKGBC will be collecting annual qualification renewal fee, for the purpose of supporting the operation of BEAM Pro and BEAM Affiliate qualification, and maintenance of Individual Accounts. The annual qualification renewal fee for BEAM Pro is $300 per year, while that for BEAM Affiliate is $150 per year. Practitioners can settle the amount at their Individual Accounts by credit cards on or before 31 March of every year.
On or before
 |
BEAM Pro | BEAM Affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| $300 per year | $150 per year |
There will be surcharges to the annual qualification renewal fee if the payment is settled after 31 March. If the fee is still not settled by 31 December of the year, the credential will be suspended. Please note there will be reinstatement fee when settling all outstanding payment for reinstatement. See the summary below.
Part 4: Rules of Conduct
BEAM practitioners will be required to sign an undertaking to comply with the rules of conduct at the time of first-time login. Besides, they will have to declare that they have not committed misconduct in a professional respect, before proceeding to Annual Qualification Renewal Fee payment.
Click HERE to see the Rules of Conduct for BEAM Practitioners.
Part 5: Pricing of CPD Event
CPD events organised by the HKGBC will no longer be charged at the fixed rate. The price of CPD events will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
For existing online videos at HKGBC Online Training Portal (OTP), effective from 1 Jan 2018, the hourly rate will be reduced from $200/hr to $100/hr.
Part 6: CPD Interest Group
The HKGBC will initiate the CPD interest group, recruiting volunteers from BEAM Pro / BEAM Affiliates. The CPD interest group will help to initiate CPD activities that are of interest to BEAM practitioners.
The hours of involvement in the CPD Interest Group can be counted towards Type 3 of CPD activities.
Please also be reminded that 2017 CPD Record Submission is open till 31 December 2017. BEAM Pro and BEAM Affiliate need to submit their Mandatory and General CPD hours at their Individual Accounts to fulfill 2017 CPD requirements.
Please go to
https://practitioner.hkgbc.org.hk/
and login to your Individual Account for submission.
Should there be any questions, please do not hesitate to contact HKGBC Secretariat as follows:
Mr Terry WONG
Contact: 3994 8831
Email: terry.wong@hkgbc.org.hk
Mr Harris CHAN
Contact: 3994 8853
Email: harris.chan@hkgbc.org.hk