CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development, and it entails the learning activities carried out by professionals in a bid to further their careers in their respective fields. CPD creates an opportunity for professionals to continuously and consciously maintain the skills and knowledge required to perform in their particular fields.

With the wide variety of professions spanning an equally broad number of industries, various accredited courses for CPD exist. CPD accredited courses help employees reach their potential by ensuring that their training is tailored to their field and the highest possible standard.

As an individual or organisation, it is crucial for your training courses, learning events, and conferences to be CPD accredited, meaning the learning activity has reached the required Continuing Professional Development standards and benchmarks. The CPD Standards Office Service provides recognised independent CPD accreditation compatible with global CPD requirements.

Benefits of Continuing Professional Development

Continuing Professional Development is essential in supporting individuals, companies, or whole sectors to keep expertise and information up-to-date. Implementing CPD allows companies to become an information bank for the organization’s main stakeholders. CPD accredited training courses, seminars, and activities encourage professionals to use the learning time for individual CPD requirements.

For the learner and the employer, ongoing career learning plans have two-fold advantages. For the learner, let’s have a look at the benefits of CPD:

• Enhances intelligence, personal knowledge, and trust;
• Opens doors to outstanding potential prospects for employment;
• Improves the capacity to learn;
• Promotes studying independently;
• Shows ambition and devotion to personal self-improvement;
• It has related practical knowledge that can attract present and future employers.

On the other side, the advantages of CPD to employers include:

• Establishes a high expectation for workforce growth around the company;
• Enhances efficiency with the aid of empowered and trained staff;
• Endorses the organization’s academic culture;
• Enhances the company’s image with prospective workers and customers;
• Increases retention of employees;
• Enables the enterprise to keep up with the innovations and advancements in the sector.

Types of CPD Learning Programs

Structured CPD / Active Learning

Interactive and participation-based research is included in Structured CPD / Active learning. Usually, it is constructive and can require participation at a training session, meeting, workshop, tutorial, lecture, e-learning course, or accredited event for CPD.

Reflective CPD / Passive Learning

No participant-based engagement is involved in reflective learning, so this type of CPD is even more passive and directional. Reading relevant news articles, podcasts & case studies, and industry updates are examples of this. For CPD reflective learning, specific casual meetings may be applicable, but these meetings’ learning aims must be made explicit in a person’s overall CPD strategy.

Self Directed CPD / Unstructured Learning

Self-directed learning includes all CPD tasks that are unaccompanied. It requires the reading, either in print or online, of papers, articles, and journals. All aspects of self-directed CPD involve reading related publications, books by leading experts, business newsletters, and trade magazines. You may also provide news feeds related to the industry or research into similar fields.

Industries With Courses Available For CPD Accreditation

Training courses for CPD accreditation can be found in a vast number of industries. Here are some of the sectors and their sub-sectors that can benefit hugely from the availability of CPD accredited courses in their field.

Agriculture & Veterinary

• Agricultural Machinery, Forestry and Land, Farming and Crop, Veterinary and Animal, etc.

Business

• Business Coaching, Business Support, Business Consultancy, Business Support, Conferences & Events, Corporate Training, Customer Services, Exhibition Management, Online & E-Learning, Sales & Marketing

Construction Sector

• Adhesives & Sealants, Advisory Organisations, Air Conditioning, Architecture, Asbestos Removal, Blasting & Demolition, Brickwork & Masonry, Building Consultants, Building Controls, Building Environment, Building Maintenance, Building Services, Building Structures,among many others

Energy Sector

• Electricity & Power, Environment, Oil and Gas, Renewables

Education Sector

• Academic Institution, Adult & Continuing Education, Art Galleries & Museums, Educational Resources, Schools & Universities

Health and Medical

• Alternative Medicine, Beauty & Cosmetic, Clinical Training, Dental & Hygiene, Disability & Disorders, Health & Wellbeing, Healthcare Services, Manual Handling, Medical, Medical Equipment, Nursing, Nutrition, Patient Care, Pharmaceutical

These industries and more are among the numerous sectors and sub-sectors where Continuing Professional Development provides accredited courses, learning materials, events, workshops, etc., that ensure you do not remain stagnant in your career.

 Change is constant, and it is vital to change with the times and even better to change ahead of it, giving you a comparative advantage against your peers in your respective fields and profession.