What is Continuing Professional Development (CPD)?

As the name suggests, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an ongoing process of making sure that professionals develop their knowledge and skills on an indefinite basis. CPD can take the form of both formal and informal development, and it is expected that professionals appropriately record Continuing Professional Development (CPD) so that they can produce evidence where requested.

Benefits of Continuing Professional Development (CPD):

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) serves many purposes, and the following should provide you with a decent/clear idea of why professionals and employers take this very seriously.

1. It ensures that the professionals are up to date with the changes in the industry and hence are best equipped to serve the needs of the clients. Imagine that you urgently need services of an accountant to secure a business loan. Would you want to go to an accountant who didn’t regularly partake in trainings after qualifying seven years ago, or would you go to an accountant who recently attended a workshop on “lenders’ expectations when approving business loans”? The answer is obvious – you would choose the accountant with a recent CPD record.
2. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) maximises your prospects to excel in your career. Whether there is a better job opportunity or a possible promotion at work, a healthy CPD record will help you stand out from the herd. Considering that the cost of the CPD is much less than the potential increase in earnings, it is a no-brainer that all professionals should pay attention to ensuring that they have kept an impressive CPD record.
3. If you freelance or run your own business, your CPD record will serve as a peace of mind for your potential clients. It will provide them with assurance that you know what you are doing and that you are serious about your work.
4. Your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will provide you with a competitive edge. Since most professionals would ensure that they undertake a decent amount of CPD, an above average record of your CPD will mean that you are one step ahead of your rivals. However, a below average CPD record will obviously do the opposite, so please do not underestimate the importance of your Continuing Professional Development (CDP).
5. Your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will open doors to many more opportunities. One less obvious benefit of CPD is making new connections. You make new connections and friends as you attend training events, seminars, workshops, and generally follow changes in your industry. This leads to many more– and often better– business opportunities, all while you are maintaining an impressive CPD record.
6. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can help you improve your efficiency and productivity in ways that you might not have imagined. For example, you will come across technological advancements, including access to free trials, where your work efficiency and productivity can be increased, often along with the overall quality of your work. This is more relevant for professionals who operate in a dynamic industry. As a trainer who has continued to deliver during the Covid-19 lock-down, I am surprised at how technology has supported the education sector where so many bottlenecks exist. At the same time, I am aware of teachers and trainers who struggled when there was a sudden switch to 100% online course delivery. In all honesty, even I felt that my CPD in using online tools to deliver courses could have been much better.
7. Finally, you stay interested and feel proud of your work. It is embedded in the very depths of human nature that we are curious beings and strive to do better. What better way to achieve this basic satisfaction, than knowing that you are always improving and making progress in your career by ensuring a steady and impressive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record? Considering that Continuing Professional Development (CDP) can take any form, as we will discuss below, it is bound to keep you interested and excited in your field of work.

What counts as Continuing Professional Development (CPD)?

Now that you understand all the great things about Continuing Professional Development (CPD), the next question would be to determine, “what counts as CPD?”. Below are some of the many ways you can undertake CPD. We will start off with informal ones, that are easier and often free to achieve, and then move on to more formal versions.

1. Reading journals, newspaper and magazines related to your work and/or profession
2. Reflecting on a recent professional experience, such as a project delivered, or a mistake made and corrected.
3. The shadowing of an experienced colleague.
4. Internal training sessions held by your employer.
5. Partaking in job sharing, job swaps, or job cover.
6. Acquiring new knowledge, skills, or behaviour through self- learning, such as, watching an online tutorial or a recorded lecture.
7. Attending a training event, whether it is free, self-sponsored or arranged by your employer.
8. Online CPD courses – often short courses that are auto-delivered and auto-marked.
9. Accredited courses – such as OTHM, NCFE and Pearson courses.
10. Professional courses and memberships – such as a Diploma in Education and Training, ACCA, Assessor courses etc.

How can we help you with your CPD needs?

All of our different offerings – accredited courses, CPDs and training events– will count towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). If you are looking for a major upgrade of your profile so that you can excel in your career, or change career paths, then our accredited courses will provide you with that pathway.

If all you need is a regular updating of your knowledge and skills, for example, by acquiring additional knowledge in managing finance, then your best bet is to do our online auto-delivered and auto-marked CPD courses. These courses can be as short as a day- long course or even up to two weeks. Prices start from £10 per CPD course, and we offer bundles if you need unlimited access for either yourself or your team.

The most effective– and hence the costliest option– is to participate in our training events, where experienced industry experts will deliver training on pre-agreed and pre-announced contemporary topics. The group size will be small, so you will also be able to discuss your own specific needs and share your experiences with other delegates. This option also stands out for the simple fact that there are opportunities to build a network with other delegates coming from a diverse range of backgrounds.

If you wish to discuss your CPD needs any further, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

By: Iqbal Ahmed & David McMahon