Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the intentional, ongoing, and systematic process through which professionals maintain and enhance their knowledge, skills, and expertise. For organisations, offering CPD-accredited training is a mark of quality, demonstrating a commitment to the highest standards of professional education.
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There is no one-size-fits all approach to CPD, however a blended approach to learning that incorporates a full range of different types of CPD can increase chances of knowledge retention and engagement.
A CPD training course is the most well-known method of completing Continuing Professional Development, and can vary in length from one day up to several days or over several weeks. Training courses will often be specific to one subject or offer skills in a particular area of industry.
CPD training courses can also sometimes encompass others forms of learning such as lectures, seminars and workshops, and can be delivered either in-person such as classroom style, or online, or even possibly a hybrid of both.
A seminar is a type of short course and typically only a few hours long up to one day. CPD seminars provide an opportunity to focus on a particular subject matter in detail. They are usually conducted in a group setting with no more than 20 participants.
CPD seminars will typically include group work, activities and interactive discussion, in order to allow individuals to contribute which can lead to better retention of knowledge. Seminars can also be a chance for individuals to network with others from different areas of their own industry or other sectors.
A workshop is an interactive educational group session typically involving between 1 to 3 days of learning. Workshops and seminars are similar, but there are a few key differences. CPD workshops are less theoretical and tend to offer a more hands-on, practical skills approach to learning which may include practical exercises, breakout sessions and role plays. Workshop groups are usually smaller than seminars.
As CPD workshops are primarily activity and exercise based, it gives the group a chance to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical context and offers a hands-on approach to enhancing skills and knowledge.
Webinars are an online learning activity 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. CPD webinars can provide opportunity to interact and participate, ask questions to the hosts, complete polls or surveys, and share documents between attendees.
CPD webinars are useful in that they do not require attendance at an in-person event and therefore provide opportunity for wider, often international, participation.
There are a number of different forms of learning that are considered CPD events. For instance, there could be a live speaker delivered in the format of a guest presentation or a panel discussion. CPD events includes conferences, usually held at venues, sometimes with a keynote session and offering breakout learning by topic. Seminars may also feature as part of wider CPD events.
Organisations can choose to host or sponsor a particular industry trade show which are usually held in large spaces, with hundreds of products and services being showcased, and in doing so may add an educational CPD learning opportunity within the trade show itself.
Online CPD courses are an increasingly popular method of learning, and can offer convenience and affordability, in that there is no need to attend an in-person event and course materials can be shared free online.
Online courses offer flexibility for individuals to participate at a suitable time and schedule around other work and family commitments. In many instances, online CPD courses can be spread over a period of time rather than requiring participation on a given day.
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.
