Continuing professional development

What is CPD?

Continuing professional development (CPD) is the learning and development you undertake that contributes to your being effective in your profession.

So long as they add value to your work, quite a range of activities can contribute to your CPD. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) they could include

• in-house or external training
• study leading to a qualification, which may be vocational 
• conferences, workshops and seminars
• membership of a planning group or committee
• work-based research
• reading professional magazines and journals
• relevant hobbies, leisure activities and voluntary work.

Make sure to keep any evidence you have of your CPD, for example certificates from previous study or training. It is easy to overlook internal training, but make a note of how it changed your ability to do your work as it may prove vital when you apply for jobs in the future.

CPD not only helps you to improve your knowledge, skills and competence in the workplace but to achieve your career goals. Over and above this, it contributes to your lifelong learning.

The CIPD provides useful guidance on organising your CPD, including questions to help you reflect on your learning experiences and templates for recording CPD activity. There is also a section on managing CPD while on a career break.

What the OU can offer

The Open University offers a range of online CPD courses (modules) for those who may need to enhance their work skills but can’t commit to full-time study.

A selection of tasters is available so you can sample study material in areas as diverse as business and management, food science, IT and teaching.

There is a discount on the cost of some short web-based CPD courses (modules) for members of certain professional bodies.

The OU’s Make Your Experience Count helps you to analyse and reflect on your past learning experiences, take stock of your skills and plan for your personal and career development. 

Personal development plan (PDP)

You can chart your CPD by using a personal development plan (PDP), sometimes called a professional development plan or an individual development plan (IDP). Whatever it is called, its value lies in helping you to organise, record and evaluate your CPD.

How you record your PDP is up to you – some people use forms, their diary or a mind map. The CIPD website gives examples to help you get started.

For your first PDP it helps if you can

• keep it short
• find a mentor, friend or colleague who will talk it through with you
• start with your present position and identify where you want to be in 12 months’ time.

Update your PDP at least once a year, reviewing what you have learnt, revising targets if necessary and setting goals for the coming year. Use an action plan to help you. Make sure your plan is SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

You may already do this planning as part of your appraisal or career development at work. Appraisals are increasingly being used to link performance to pay, and effective preparation using tools such as a PDP will help you to get the most benefit from them.