A new you

By now, many New Year’s resolutions will have been set (and broken), and many people will have begun working towards bringing them to fruition.

Resolutions can be broad; while some may steer towards healthier lifestyles – drink less, eat well and exercise more – others may be career driven.

This week, the General Optical Council revealed that an impressive 98% of all registrants successfully met the requirements of the 2013–15 enhanced CET cycle by the 31 December deadline. And while many practitioners will have secured this with time to spare, there will also have been those who took the deadline to the wire. I know only too well from speaking to some practitioners over the festive period that some will have let out a sigh of relief after managing to reach the threshold.

Helping practitioners start off on the right educational foot as we enter a new cycle, the AOP and OT has worked hard to ensure that there is a plethora of CET available in the first quarter of 2016, and beyond, so you can start as you mean to go on.

Booking is open for the first batch of the AOP’s popular peer review events, and with 100% Optical less than three weeks away, there simply is no excuse but to start collecting those points.

If you haven’t registered for 100% Optical yet, it’s not too late. Once registered, you can book onto a wide range of lectures taking place in six hubs throughout the three-day show. New lectures, including AOP member-only sessions, have recently been released so logon and have a look.

On a slightly separate note, for those whose 2016 goals include taking the next steps in their career, why not take a browse of OT’s monthly advice from The Careers Group. Housed in the website’s new career development area, advice ranges from CV writing tips and getting the interview right, to networking skills. This resource will continue to be built on throughout 2016, so check in regularly for support.