County Wexford Chamber Skillnet is now a Member of the CPD Certification Service
What does this mean?
County Wexford Chamber Skillnet is now in a position to submit Network Developed Programmes and/or Events for CPD Certification and Participants of these Programmes will receive a Certificate and CPD Points.
What is CPD?
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development and is the term used to describe the learning activities professionals engage in to develop and enhance their abilities. CPD is a holistic approach towards the enhancement of personal skills and proficiency throughout a professional’s career. At its core, Continuing Professional Development is about the individual and their commitment to ongoing lifelong learning. It encourages looking forward and identifying opportunities to learn something new, refresh existing knowledge, improve skills, or simply keep up-to-date with the latest developments within a particular profession or industry. In practice, it could mean everything from taking a training course or attending an educational event, to studying for new qualifications or learning new aspects of a job. CPD enables learning to become conscious and proactive, rather than passive and reactive. It involves an individual documenting and keeping a record of the increasing skills, knowledge and experience they gain throughout their career.
CPD combines different methodologies to learning, which includes training courses, seminars, workshops, conferences and events, webinars and online eLearning programs, as well as sharing best practice techniques, thoughts and ideas, all focused towards an individual methodically improving within the work environment. Engaging in CPD activities ensures that both academic and practical qualifications do not become outdated or obsolete, and allows for individuals to continually ‘up skill’ or ‘re-skill’ themselves regardless of their occupation, age or educational level. Continuing Professional Development is an ongoing process of frequently improving skills and competencies to enhance workplace performance and future career prospects.
About The CPD Certification Service
Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service is the world’s leading and largest independent Continuing Professional Development accreditation
organisation working across all industry sectors. The CPD Certification Service provides accreditation for 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. The CPD Certification Service evaluates further learning activities to the highest standards. Our unique experience and history enables us to support organisations seeking authoritative CPD certification for their further learning activities. Thousands of training courses, events, e-learning programs, conferences, workshops and seminars are formally certified by us every year adding significant value for audiences and providers. Millions of professionals recognise our CPD Certified symbol as the qualitative benchmark that, not only reflects but also sets those standards. CPD is assessed and certified against the universally accepted and structured checklist which The CPD Certification Service has developed for over 25+ years. The process takes an impartial and objective overview of the structure and value of training materials to ensure full conformity to CPD guidelines. Their CPD quality marks are protected by international copyright legislation. The recognised and authoritative CPD Member and CPD Certified symbols offer professional bodies, institutional associations, educational providers and consumers alike reassurance that the further learning achieves the qualitative standards required by all parties.
Who is CPD for?
CPD is carried out by millions of individuals across a whole range of industries and professions. Allocating time for CPD is the responsibility of each person
and to identify the relevant requirements for their particular organisation or industry. It is important for all professionals to understand how their CPD training should be recorded and how much learning time is required for their role each year. The level of CPD necessary for any individual can vary between sectors.
Regulated industries tend to expect professional bodies & associations to ensure a mandatory CPD policy is implemented across the various roles and job functions working within that sector. This can be seen clearly within the traditional sectors of healthcare, medical, law, financial services, construction, engineering, veterinary and accountancy for instance, but is equally pervasive in other professions such as education, IT, communications, marketing,
human resources and business.
CPD assists individuals to apply attention to areas of development and to take the necessary action in reducing any deficiencies in knowledge. An individual ought to see Continuing Professional Development as an opportunity to remain competitive with his or her peers, and a tool to differentiate themselves professionally at moments where this may be required, such as in job interviews or perhaps in tenders for new work and business acquisition. As competition increases and people become more similarly qualified, Continuing Professional Development provides a means of standing out and displaying diverse skills and knowledge. The fundamental essence of CPD is the commitment to lifelong learning.
CPD Hours and Points
The majority of institutions and professional bodies provide individuals with Continuing Professional Development targets generally expressed on a numerical basis. These targets are defined by the accrual of CPD activities through training courses, workshops, and educational events that have been attended, as well as other structured forms of learning. Professional bodies often use the terms ‘CPD hours’, ‘CPD points’, or ‘CPD credits’ depending on preference, typically from a historical basis when initially implementing their CPD policy, rather than from any modern day strategic perspective. Across all industries, CPD points relate to CPD hours. The definition of a CPD hour is the time spent for a delegate in “active learning”. Active learning describes the actual time spent learning relevant to Continuing Professional Development objectives.
A great example of this would be a 1-day CPD accredited training course. If the training starts at 10am and ends at 5pm, with a 1 hour break for lunch, the learning would be 6 CPD hours. The majority of professional bodies use CPD hours as their Continuing Professional Development measure, and where CPD points or credits are used, these are typically a 1:1 ratio with CPD hours. By this, 1 CPD point would be equal to 1 CPD hour.
Benefits of completing CPD
CPD is essential in helping individuals, organisations or entire industries keep skills and knowledge up to date.
From an individual perspective – CPD encourages individuals to maintain consistent and high standards, as well as making it easier to demonstrate commitment and dedication towards a particular job role or profession. CPD offers a functional platform for individuals to build a career progression plan that supports their objectives towards new job openings, development within an existing role, or even possibly higher earnings opportunities. CPD can be an excellent self-motivation tool, acting as a reminder of personal achievements and progression over time. CPD provides flexibility and diversity in terms of different methods of learning available so each individual can find a learning style that suits them best. To that extent a professional is able to find much greater appreciation for the positive impact they can make at work.
From an organisation perspective – All organisations that face competition need to find new ways to retain key staff and help differentiate themselves as leaders in their industry. CPD can be used to advance the body of knowledge, skills and technology within an organisation. The application of CPD in the workplace shows a mindful decision and commitment towards both clients and employees that professionalism is important. Organisations are able to recognise that Continuing Professional Development can be used to ensure quality levels remain high across all departments. CPD can help to identify potential skill gaps in the workplace, and highlight areas where the business can be improved. CPD encourages a healthy learning culture which can lead to a more fulfilled and valuable workforce. Continuing Professional Development should be used to attract a higher level of candidates when recruiting for new roles, by encouraging better talent towards the organisation. CPD is a tool for improvements in business performance and efficiency, whilst also helping staff with
their individual learning requirements.
From an industry perspective – The increase in Continuing Professional Development across industry has been driven by the need for a system of measurable performance and transparency. ‘Professionalisation’ in response to legislation, consumer needs and general socioeconomic trends highlights ongoing need for visibility and accountability across sectors. Advancement of industries as a whole and their respective technologies requires professionals to adapt, improve and change more frequently than perhaps decades before. CPD supports raising industry benchmarks in line with increasing globalisation and consumer demands. In many traditional sectors it is mandatory for professionals to regularly record and complete CPD as part of their commitment to their professional body.