Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has become an invaluable resource for both individuals and organisations across all industry sectors. With ever increasing competition and rapid changes in technology and the working environment, a commitment to CPD ensures the development of skills and knowledge crucial to continued growth and success.
Finding trusted CPD courses is an essential part of a successful professional development journey. CPD accreditation can help ensure courses have been independently assessed and meet recognised standards. This article will explore how to find trusted CPD courses and highlight the importance and benefits of accredited CPD learning.
What is CPD?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the term used to describe the learning activities professionals engage in to enhance their abilities and knowledge throughout their career. At its core, CPD is a commitment to ongoing lifelong learning. CPD can involve both formal and informal activities. It combines different methodologies to learning, such as training courses, seminars, workshops, conferences and online eLearning, but also recognises the value of self-study, peer discussion and networking.
CPD accreditation helps raise industry standards and benchmarks in line with increasing globalisation and consumer demands. Organisations from across industry sectors use CPD accreditation to add value to their training and events. Equally, CPD accreditation offers reassurance and peace of mind to individuals undertaking any learning for their Continuing Professional Development.
Why choosing the right CPD course matters
Finding the right CPD learning is essential to professional growth and development, and CPD accreditation can be the basis for choosing the right CPD course. Accredited CPD learning is a benchmark of quality and ensures courses have been assessed to meet recognised standards and will offer value to the professionals participating.
Beyond this, individuals and organisations need to make their own needs assessment of the accredited CPD that will most benefit them. Effective CPD will be based on an alignment between accredited CPD learning in areas that fulfil specific professional needs. To achieve the most benefit from ongoing CPD, individuals and organisations should assess areas such as overall organisational objectives, individual skills gaps, professional body requirements, career progression goals and preferred learning methods. These core assessments will help choose the most appropriate accredited CPD learning pathways to achieve success.
What to look for in a CPD course
Ensuring a CPD course has been accredited is the first step when looking for any CPD learning. CPD-accredited training ensures that learning activities meet high standards and guidelines. The CPD Certification Service 'Certified' symbol highlights that training has been independently checked and approved for quality. Organisations and professionals should then look for accredited CPD activities that align with their needs. Although by no means exhaustive, areas to consider include:
- Organisation objectives: Focusing on CPD activities that support overall organisational objectives. For example, improving digital skills in the face of technological change or staying up to date with emerging regulatory requirements.
- Skill Gaps: Engaging in accredited CPD learning that addresses skill gaps or improves core skills. This could be job specific skill development or the improvement of key transferable skills.
- Professional Requirements: Some industries, such as healthcare, will have mandated CPD expectations as part of professional registration requirements. This may include recommending a focus on specific knowledge and skill development.
- Career Goals: Professionals may focus CPD participation on career goals. This could range from a focus on developing leadership skills with the aim of promotion, to building knowledge in anticipation of an entire career change.
- Preferred learning: A recognition of the learning method that suits learning type and circumstances can be important. For example, some individuals may benefit from flexible online learning over in person classroom, or a networking event may be more beneficial to their development.
- Costs: Budget is commonly a consideration and CPD learning can often be cost effective. In some circumstances, engaging with industry journals can be as beneficial as committing to a longer-term training programme.
Once these assessments have been made, professionals can seek the accredited CPD learning most relevant to their needs.
Benefits CPD accreditation offers
How CPD accreditation benefits training providers
There are numerous benefits that CPD accreditation offers training providers. A few of the main reasons an organisation will look to obtain CPD accreditation is to meet more of the right audience, increase training bookings and event attendance. Recognised CPD accreditation provides an endorsement for an organisation and can be used to obtain new clients, as well as generate interest for events and courses.
CPD accreditation also means an organisation will be seen as an authority in the industry. This will not only help to gain new customers, but the established expertise means more can potentially be charged for products and services. This opens up possibilities for increased revenue and profitability.
The process of gaining CPD accreditation will also enhance the standard of training as quality of learning materials will be raised through access to experienced CPD experts, providing advice and a framework to help continuously improve an educational offering. Furthermore, by becoming a CPD provider, organisations can share their own expertise, as well as receive input from a much broader community. Through networking, this can open up new business opportunities and potential customers.
Why is it important to choose a CPD-accredited provider?
CPD accreditation ensures that courses or training are assessed and checked to the highest standard – thereby offering assurance to professionals that they will get the most out of any learning. External validation through accreditation demonstrates the steps taken to deliver the highest possible training standards.This thorough process gives participants confidence that training is independently deemed effective, credible, and adheres to internationally recognised professional development benchmarks.
Equally, organisations that actively commit to CPD through accredited CPD learning can become more effective at meeting ongoing training needs. The emphasis of CPD on individual proactive learning means organisations and their workforce can focus individual CPD on the most beneficial areas and choose the learning methods they find most effective.
Promoting CPD participation helps foster a culture of learning. By embedding accredited CPD in work culture, organisations, over time, are likely to see better training return on investment (ROI), increased productivity, and clearer alignment between learning strategies and business goals.
How can CPD points and certificates be verified?
An important part of a successful CPD journey is keeping a record of completed CPD and monitoring overall development - through a personal log of CPD participation and storing of CPD certificates of attendance. A CPD certificate is important as it helps organisations and professional bodies ensure that an individual has completed an appropriate level of further learning.
There is sometimes variation in the terminology used to measure CPD participation. Different professional bodies may use the terms 'CPD hours', ‘CPD points’, ‘units’ or ‘credits’ depending on preference, typically for historical reasons. It is considered across all industries that CPD points, units and credits all relate to the same thing: CPD Hours. The definition of CPD Hours is the time spent for a delegate to be in active learning. By this, it is meant that typically 1 CPD point equals 1 CPD Hour. There is more useful reading on CPD Hours in our previous article here
It is important for all individuals to manage and record their Continuing Professional Development effectively on a regular basis. The myCPD Portal is a free CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing Continuing Professional Development. It allows individuals to store their personal training record and CPD attendance certificates in one simple place.
Furthermore, organisations can utilise a certificate service to reduce costs and administrative burden post-activity. The Delegate Certificate Service (DCS) has been designed to support CPD providers in issuing attendance certificates to delegates. Using a unique QR code applied to each certificate, the validity of the completed accredited training activity can be verified – this can be presented to a governing body or employer as a recognised and official CPD certificate of completion.
Where to find trusted CPD courses
Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 30 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to publish CPD courses and promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.
Within the CPD Courses Catalogue, there is a range of CPD activities which have been formally CPD certified on behalf of our providers to ensure learning suitability. To find out more about a particular course listed on our website, please complete an enquiry form and the details will be sent directly to the relevant CPD provider.
How to become a CPD accredited training provider
We hope this article was helpful. If you are considering becoming a CPD accredited provider, please contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online record tool to help manage, track and log any Continuing Professional Development targets, store personal training records and CPD attendance certificates in one simple place, please visit the myCPD Portal page.
