Both for employers and members of the workforce at all levels, the benefits of CPD are broad and diverse. Increasingly, commitment to continuing professional development (CPD) is becoming a priority for businesses and professionals alike.
Enhanced skills, knowledge and experience developed through CPD activities are quantified in the CPD points you accumulate along the way. The number of CPD credits earned depends on the nature, level and duration of the activity, ultimately building towards an established CPD portfolio.
A CPD portfolio is necessary to track and demonstrate an individual’s progression through the course of their career. It’s a continuous process with no end date and no specific limitations on how far you can take your CPD profile.
CPD qualifications – i.e. courses and activities that provide CPD credits – are readily available and inexpensive. Online educational and training programmes in particular are proving popular among CPD-focused professionals and businesses. Self-paced distance learning provides jobseekers and workers alike the opportunity to study at a time and pace to suit their existing commitments.
Commitment to CPD isn’t just about the skills, knowledge and experience accumulated along the way. It also sends a strong message to others about your commitment to continuous improvement, or the progression of your workforce from an employer’s perspective.
Where CPD is prioritised and encouraged, everybody wins. Whether pursuing promotion at work or looking to reduce employee turnover rates, stronger focus on CPD could make all the difference.
With this in mind, here’s a brief rundown of just a few of the primary benefits of CPD:
Over time, even the most advanced qualifications and educational accolades can begin to stagnate. When you commit yourself to CPD, your skills and knowledge are kept up to date with the latest developments in your chosen field. This enables you to maintain pace with other candidates in the same line of work, who may otherwise have the advantage of a more up-to-date knowledge base and skill set.
This is something that can benefit employers and employees alike, due to the frantic pace of change that’s become the norm in modern society. All industries, sectors and specialist fields are evolving at an alarming pace – often too rapidly for many to keep up with. Remaining up to date with changing trends isn’t solely about building a competitive advantage. It’s also about being able to improve your performance and output through a more detailed understanding of your niche.
Embracing every opportunity to enhance your knowledge and understanding of your specialist field holds the key to staying interested in what you do long-term. Irrespective of how interesting or enjoyable a job may be, it can quickly lose its lustre when it becomes repetitive, predictable and ultimately mundane. The deeper the interest you take in your niche, the more focused you become and the more you stand to get out of your career.
From an employer’s perspective, there’s nothing quite like CPD to demonstrate commitment to your workforce and its long-term progression. When employees are encouraged by their employer to train, study and up-skill with career development in mind, they’re exponentially more likely to work hard and demonstrate loyalty. By contrast, employers that show reluctance to encourage the progression of the workforce tend to have elevated staff turnover rates.
Building an impressive CPD portfolio and stacking up CPD credits is something that can be done without disrupting your current commitments or lifestyle. Again, the flexibility of online courses and training programmes in particular is appealing to both employers and workers alike. Simply dedicating a few hours here and there to your CPD profile can make all the difference – a flexible and accessible alternative to more formal education.
Ultimately, the biggest benefit of CPD from an employee’s perspective is its capacity to provide a long-term competitive edge. Job market competition across all sectors is more ferocious than it has never been. However, evidence suggests that the vast majority of workers and jobseekers alike make no direct efforts to boost their CPD profiles. Unless it is a formal prerequisite within their target profession, it tends to be side-lined. Commitment to CPD remains relatively rare, heightening the competitive advantage for those who take the initiative.
It’s worth remembering that while almost any exercise or activity can technically contribute to your CPD profile, CPD credits can only be earned with endorsed/accredited CPD training. This is something to look into before enrolling on a course or training programme, which should clearly indicate how many CPD points it is worth.
That said, it’s also important to ensure that your own long-term CPD doesn’t become little more than a box-ticking exercise.
Logically, you’d assume that the more CPD points you collect, the better – irrespective of how you accumulate them. In reality, the only CPD points of value to your career are those of relevance to your area of interest and career goals.
If you’re pursuing a career as a business executive, CPD credits from an entry-level fashion design course aren’t going to carry much weight.
There’s no shortage of high-quality CPD courses and training programs available online, spanning every imaginable subject and specialism. There’s also no specific limit as to how many courses you can take, but ensuring they’re aligned with your career goals should be your priority.
For more information on any of our CPD training programs or to discuss the potential benefits of CPD in more detail, contact a member of the team at CPD Courses today.