In this article, we outline the steps to prepare CDR Report so that engineers can easily access the key elements when preparing their CDR for Migration Skills Assessment. Well, a Competency Demonstration Report (CDR) is a technical document/report that helps to prove that your engineering skills and knowledge have met Australian skills migration standards. Engineers Australia (EA) evaluates your CDR before determining whether you qualify for the occupational category for which you are applying, which serves as the foundation for the approval of your immigration to Australia.
Your skilled migration visa is based on your CDR report; do not take your CDR report writing lightly. CDRAustraliaHelp has a team of experts who have firsthand experience as engineers which EA has approved.
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Guidelines for writing a CDR report by Engineers Australia
The greatest risk of preparing your own CDR report is that a lack of information or a poorly written report could jeopardize your chances of receiving an Australian Skilled Migration visa. So, carefully observe all of Engineers Australia’s CDR guidelines:
- Your curriculum vitae (CV) provides a comprehensive overview of your engineering education and job experience. It must consist of a chronological listing of your employment history, not a list of projects you’ve worked on. It should be printed on A4 paper and should not be lengthy. Mention the following for each workplace:
- Name and location of the organization along with its contact details,
- Dates and duration of employment,
- Your job title,
- Your job responsibilities as defined in the appointment letter and a brief description of what you did there.
- Your CPD should be specified in the list format, and it should not exceed one page in length (in A4 size). We’ll go over how to draft a CPD in-depth further down.
- The career episodes must be written in Australian English. Each narrative should be between 1,000 and 2,500 words in length, and it must not be very technical. A career episode should be written in the first person and focus on what you did as an individual in the case you’re telling.
- Number each paragraph of your career episode in the following manner:
- Career episode 1 (paragraphs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc.)
- Career episode 2 (paragraphs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 etc.)
- Career episode 3 (paragraphs 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 etc.)
- The paragraph numbers will be used for cross-referencing in the Summary statement.
- A Career Episode should be written in the style of an essay rather than a table.
- All three career episodes are covered under a single Summary Statement.
Documents that must be submitted with the CDR Report
- Passport-size photo taken recently
- Your passport and other verification documents.
- Certificate of completion of an academic program
- Official and complete academic transcript
- IELTS or TOEFL iBT result
- Name Change documentation (if applicable)
- Professional Registration Certificate (if applicable)
- Documentary evidence of employment for the previous year, as well as employment as mentioned in the CDR Report’s Career Episodes
Steps to prepare CDR report for migration skills assessment
1. How to write a CPD
CPD refers to Continuing Professional Development, and it encompasses everything you accomplished following your undergraduate degree to stay current with the latest breakthroughs in your profession. CPD must be presented in a list manner. It shouldn’t be more than one page long (in an A4 size sheet). The list may include the details:
- Your postgraduate study details (even if it was a distance course),
- Conferences you attended,
- The material you prepared and presented in various courses, conferences, seminars, and symposia,
- Volunteering or mentoring work you did relate to your engineering profession
- Short-term courses, workshops, seminars, technical meetings and inspections, and discussions you attended, and
- Books, journals, or manuals you studied to gain more knowledge about the field.
2. How to write a Career Episode
Career Episodes are three essays you write to demonstrate your professional development as an engineer. The essays are long (1000 to 2500 words is the recommended length), must be written in the first person, and may cover a specific time or facet of your engineering career. All three career episodes must be based on the distinct projects of your engineering career or highlight different areas of your engineering experience. When drafting a CDR report, remember to utilize Australian English.
Engineers Australia (EA) requires you to write a Career Episode as part of your CDR to determine whether your engineering abilities and knowledge meet Australian standards.
- It’s a good idea to have the EA list of competencies before you think about the Career Episode theme. Consider the moments in your career when you used those specific skills, and create a Career Episode around it.
- Keep your CE under the word limit (1000-2500 words), avoid using too much technical jargon in your career episode, and write in proper Australian English. Your assessor will also utilize your CDR report to evaluate your communication abilities.
- Focus on applications of engineering knowledge and abilities in a Career Episode. Always utilize the first person singular to describe yourself and your personal role in the incident you’re describing.
- To make your Career Episode more realistic, avoid adding tables, calculations, or images that make your essay appear overly technical.
- Introduction, Background, Personal Engineering Activity, and Summary should all be included in each Career Episode.
- Make sure your Career Episode isn’t too broad or too technical. Your strategy should be well-balanced. On the other hand, avoid giving too much technical information that you miss out on other aspects of the project.
- When creating a Career Episode, don’t get sidetracked. Remember that it’s all about you and your ability, not what your team or department accomplished. EA is likely to reject your CDR if you cannot prove any of the statements you make in it.
3. How to write a Summary Statement
The Summary Statement is the last part of the CDR report. As the name implies, the summary statement summarizes the career episode listed in the CDR. It would be best if you cross-referenced to the relevant career episode paragraph in the summary statement. Here are some pointers on how to construct a strong Summary Statement.
- Your Summary Statement is entirely determined by your Career Episodes. As a result, double-check that you’ve prepared the Career Episodes correctly. Before beginning the summary statement, check over your career episodes again to see if they are relevant to Engineers Australia’s Migration Skill Assessment standards.
- Another crucial aspect of career episodes is that they must be written in paragraph form, with the paragraphs labeled CE 1, CE 1.1, CE 2, CE 2.1, etc. It will be easier for you to specify the cross-reference and for the assessor to match the indicators with your career events if you do it in this manner.
- Examine your career episodes carefully because it is common for applicants to be unable to comprehend the significance of an indicator and to associate it with an inaccurate paragraph in their career episodes.
- It is not necessary to limit your summary statement to one page. Make sure to include a summary that includes references to all of your professional episodes.
- Finally, before drafting your summary statement, look over some Engineers Australia summary statement samples to understand how to do the analysis and match the competency aspects.
Features of perfect CDR report
Keep in mind that the Career Episodes are designed to highlight your skill, abilities, and knowledge as a Professional Engineer, Engineering Technologist, Engineering Associate, or Engineering Manager. You must carefully select them to demonstrate the competency elements for the engineering category to which you are applying.
- Make sure you write in proper Australian English. The EA assessor should be able to see your communication skills in a CDR report.
- One of the most important characteristics of a good CDR excludes any information that Engineers Australia does not require. EA, for example, isn’t interested in learning about your company’s history, team accomplishments, or the market size or share of your previous employer.
- Prepare to back up all of your assertions with paperwork and proof. Show evidence of the outcomes you promise to produce.
- For Career Episodes, EA recommends a specific writing style. These career episodes should be written in the first person, with an active voice. It means you should utilize phrases like “I tested,” “I analyzed,” and “I measured”.
- Engineers Australia requests that you create a Summary Statement to analyze how each paragraph in your ‘Career Episodes’ relates to the competency elements for the Skilled Migration category for which you are applying. It means that you must always be relevant, or you will lose ‘analysis’ points.
