Continuing Professional Development

Based on: Fowler A (1996) How to manage your own CPD; People Management; 24 October 1996

Professionals need to update their knowledge and develop their skills continuously and the primary responsibility for this lies with the individual, not the employer.	Various modes of learning exist. The formal training course is the most obvious but not perhaps the most important one. Most people learn best from experience and the quality of this experiential learning can be enhanced by realizing that it is happening and setting aside time to think about it and consolidate it - perhaps by further private study.
It helps to be systematic in periodically listing present and required knowledge, skills and attitudes so that gaps can be identified and plans made to fill them.

There should be three elements to a Continuing Professional Development Plan:

The development objectives: probably divided into immediate and short-term needs, and long-term career and development aims.
Plans to meet these objectives: subdivided into work-based activities, formal and informal or personal action.
A schedule of target dates for action and dates on which to review how effective the action has been.

The following checklist can act as a starting point for the development of your own set of systematic planning tools:

Learning Area	Score
Personnel techniques (e.g. selection, induction, appraisal etc)
Organizational theory and practice
Financial management, principles and processes
Equal opportunities principles and practice
Statistical skills and numeracy
Counseling and mentoring skills
IT knowledge and skills
Negotiating Skills
Time Management
Communication and presentation skills
Language skills
Interpersonal skills
Academic or professional qualifications
Knowledge and understanding of own organization
Knowledge/understanding of own employment sector

Learning Area