Introduction to Continuing Professional Development
With over 35,000 CPD providers, courses and events and more than 27 years’ experience, The CPD Certification Service advise organisations on how to become CPD accredited for training courses and events.
CPD accreditation is suitable for all organisations ranging from small consultancy firms to large training providers, multi-national corporations, conference & events organisers, universities, further education colleges, local authorities, councils and Government departments.
CPD has seen a substantial rise in recent years and The CPD Certification Service is a key driving force of Continuing Professional Development across the world with CPD members in over 100 countries and growing.
What is CPD accreditation?
CPD has been adopted by many professional bodies across the Middle East, and organisations are increasingly looking for CPD accreditation and establishing similar standards and practices recognised in the UK.
Continuing Professional Development is a commitment to ongoing lifelong learning, and a powerful tool that professionals from across all industries can apply to their lives to improve knowledge and skills to ensure academic qualifications do not become outdated.
Becoming a CPD accredited training provider in the Middle East means the training and events you offer have reached an industry recognised standard for learning and development.
Why become CPD accredited?
Organisations wishing to become CPD accredited can display their commitment through membership with The CPD Certification Service.
Applying CPD accreditation to learning activities helps to create a competitive advantage from others in the market, whilst also providing a sign of quality, credibility and reassurance to learners and delegates. CPD accreditation can apply to a number of core learning activities, which includes training courses, workshops, seminars, eLearning, conferences, and educational events.
Organisations become CPD accredited to present their knowledge as industry experts, as well as support their clients and employees through a recognised approach to professional learning.
The CPD Certification Service provide accreditation for organisations ranging from training providers to multi-national corporations, conference organisers, universities, further education colleges, local authorities, councils as well as various Government departments.
CPD accreditation process
The CPD accreditation process is simple and helps organisations to formalise their training and events into a recognised approach to professional learning.
Step one
Contact our team
Use our simple form to contact our friendly team and tell us about your organisation, training courses and events.
Step two
Discuss your CPD
Our professional team can provide information on the steps to get courses accredited and become a CPD training provider.
Step three
Become CPD accredited
As a CPD provider you can submit your training and events directly to the Assessments team for accreditation.
Growth of CPD in the Middle East
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is becoming of increasing importance in the Middle East, with guidelines being set by industry regulators, educational institutions and the professional bodies. Organisations are embracing CPD across the region and in doing so are raising standards of the available professional development.
CPD in United Arab Emirates
The completion of Continuing Professional Development hours in different professions is used to ensure quality levels remain high and CPD can also help individuals maintain their skills and keep updated with best practices.
Professional learning often includes practical and vocational training that relate to a specific job roles, industries or career path. The following offers a brief introduction to CPD within some key areas of the Middle East.
CPD in the Health sector
The United Arab Emirates has seen a recent growth in CPD, in particular the health sector. In 2014 the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) released their Continuing Professional Development guidelines where it outlined the purpose of Continuing Professional Development and the implementation of CPD in different professions and job roles. The CPD guidelines set out by the Dubai Health Authority play a pivotal role in United Arab Emirates health policy.
Dubai Health Authority CPD Guidelines
The purpose of the DHA CPD Guidelines is to “Ensure quality, stability and availability of healthcare professionals”. It promotes that Continuing Professional Development be used to advance the body of knowledge, abilities, skills and technology within different job roles across all industries.
The guidelines specifically state “Continuing Professional Development acknowledges not only the wide-ranging competences needed to practice high quality medicine but also the multidisciplinary nature of patient care.”
Importance of CPD
DHA guidelines state the application of CPD in the workplace shows a mindful decision and commitment towards clients and employees, emphasising the importance of development and maintenance of knowledge and skills.
The DHA believe that “Continuing Professional Development forms an integral part of revalidation and licensure of healthcare professionals. Therefore, healthcare facilities are equally responsible to ensure they have in place adequate plans to assure continual professional development of all staff.”
Similar to the UK, healthcare institutions are responsible for making sure employees are adequately trained and keep CPD records up to date each year.
Common CPD terminology in Dubai
Please see below common CPD terminology used in Dubai and throughout the region.
- CPD - Continuing Professional Development
- CME - Continuing Medical Education
- CDE - Continuing Dental Education
- CNE - Continuing Nursing Education
- CPE - Continuing Pharmacy Education
- CE - Continuing Education
CPD Annual Requirements
In 2017 the Unified Healthcare Professionals Qualification Requirements (PQR) was issued by the Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority and the Department of Health with the following minimum annual CPD requirements:
- Physicians and Dentists - 40 hours
- Pharmacists - 20 hours
- Nurses - 20 hours
- Allied Health Professionals - 10 hours
- Traditional, Complementary & Alternative Medicine (TCAM) Professionals - 10 hours
CPD in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has seen a particular focus on CPD within the teaching profession, initially implemented in science education, that has now developed in to all aspects of teaching. Teachers have demonstrated a shift from traditional teaching methods to spending more time developing subject knowledge, shifting from coverage of facts and procedures to a more in-depth focus on concepts and ‘hands-on’ engagement.
Teachers Continuing Professional Development programs in Saudi Arabia are undertaken as short training sessions that centre on theoretical pedagogical knowledge, practical, skills, and the content knowledge.
The recent development and growth of CPD in Saudi Arabia is beginning to expand other opportunities for learning. As with the wider Middle East, The CPD Certification Service has a growing number of members based in Saudi Arabia.
Thousands of CPD training providers are sharing their skills with the world
Benefits of CPD Membership
Becoming a CPD accredited provider and certifying your training materials follows a simple process. The CPD Certification Service provides different membership levels to suit needs and budgets.
CPD membership is determined by an initial dialogue and recommendations for your most effective routes to market. Becoming a CPD provider can help to distinguish organisations from their market competitors, as well as meet the right target audience and help increase delegate bookings for events and courses.
- Provide review and advice on organisational CPD requirements
- CPD accreditation for courses & events, from 1 - 250+ activities a year
- Licence to use CPD Member logo on company marketing materials
- CPD Certified symbol on approved CPD training courses materials
- Presence in CPD Member Directory for user validation and searching
- Ability to publicise CPD certified events on industry Event Calendar
CPD providers are able to utilise key features of membership to help support their business, marketing and training objectives. Please contact our team to discuss in more detail.
What activities can get CPD accreditation?
Continuing Professional Development accreditation covers a whole range of different learning methods. Our Assessments team review thousands of CPD courses, workshops seminars and events every year.
TRAINING COURSES
CPD training courses are the most well-known method of completing Continuing Professional Development. They vary in length and will often be specific to one subject or offer skills in a particular area of an industry.
SEMINARS
Seminars are a type of short course and are typically a few hours long, but sometimes last up to one day. CPD seminars provide an opportunity to focus on a particular subject matter in detail and they are usually conducted in group settings with interactive discussion allowing individuals to contribute.
WORKSHOPS
CPD workshops are interactive educational group sessions which are similar to seminars but with a few differences. CPD workshops are less theoretical and tend to offer a more hands-on, practical skills approach to learning.
WEBINARS
Webinars are a method of online learning which is held virtually and attended by an online audience. Often, the main objective of a CPD webinar is to educate and inform professionals in a short and concise manner about new and relevant information.
EVENTS
There are a number of different forms of learning that can be considered a CPD event. CPD events include conferences held at venues, often with keynote sessions and breakout learning by topic. Seminars and workshops may also feature as part of wider CPD events.
ONLINE COURSES
Online CPD courses are an increasingly popular method of learning that offer convenience and affordability. As in-person event and course materials can be shared free online, there is no need to attend.
Working with The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service is a key driving force in the promotion of Continuing Professional Development across the world.
Why get your training CPD accredited?
Continuing Professional Development is a powerful learning tool that professionals from across all industries can apply to their lives to remain focused on improving skills and take an empowering approach to career progression.
CPD encourages looking forward and identifying opportunities to learn something new, refresh existing knowledge, and improve skills, making learning to be proactive throughout an individuals career.
Working with The CPD Service
We have over 35,000 CPD providers, courses and events in over 100 countries, and more than 27 years' experience advising organisations on how to get training courses and events accredited for Continuing Professional Development.
CPD accreditation benchmarks learning to the highest recognised industry CPD standards. Our Assessments team provide feedback and recommendations to make improvements where suitable. CPD accreditation offers reassurance and peace of mind to individuals undertaking the learning for their Continuing Professional Development requirements.
Apply for CPD accreditation today
Next Steps - Talk to our team
Find out how CPD accreditation can add value to your training and events. Support the millions of people who complete Continuing Professional Development each year.
