Through its Centre for Professional Learning and Development, the OU has launched a range of flexible online CPD courses especially for busy people who may need to extend or update their work skills, but can’t commit to more long-term study. They are designed to give you new skills, knowledge and ideas that you can immediately apply in practice.

Current courses

• In business & management
• In computing and technology
• In updating teaching practices
  
• In the food industry
• In professional skills updating
• In travel planning

Leaflets describing the courses are available here.

Benefits and features

New from the OU

This new and continually expanding range of online CPD courses draws on all The Open University’s expertise in work-based professional development.

Relevant to your work

Each course is designed to help you respond to the actual challenges you face in your day-to-day work.

Immediately applicable

The strong link between course learning and your work practice means that you can immediately use newly acquired skills and knowledge.

Online flexibility

Every course takes about 30 hours and lets you start and finish when it suits you.

Online convenience

You can learn online at work or wherever is convenient.

Guidance and feedback

An expert learning adviser will provide you with continuing guidance and feedback.

Action oriented

By the end of a course you will have built your own Personal Development or Action Plan.

Award of Certificate

Each course can enhance your CV with an OU Certificate of successful completion.

No entry requirements

No previous academic achievement is needed to take one of our flexible online CPD courses. To gain full benefit from a course, we expect you to have a broad understanding or practical experience of the subject.

If you know about these things, the courses are taken from material at NQF level 6 in England Wales and NI; SCQF level 10 in Scotland, and NFQ level 8 in Ireland. The courses themselves are not academically rated.

Basically they are designed to update the skills and knowledge of working professionals and to help them meet the CPD requirements of various professional bodies.