Continuous Professional Development or as it is more commonly referred to as CPD, is all about an individual in a professional environment and the commitment that they make to their ongoing learning practices. It is something that encourages an individual to look to the future and identify those opportunities that will allow them to learn new things, refresh existing skills and knowledge. Plus, it includes keeping abreast of the latest developments that are taking place within the sector or field they are working in.
From the moment a person’s career begins, CPD becomes something that is incredibly relevant. This is the case whether they are just beginning in the profession or have been working in the field of project management for a number of years.
Exactly what counts as CPD?
There can sometimes be some confusion over exactly what constitutes CPD. Research carried out into CPD as a result of a partnership with the Professional Development Consortium discovered that to be its best, CPD should be collaborative, relevant, recognised, and personal. There will be occasions when a project manager, or indeed any member of a team, will, in fact, be doing CPD but without realising it. There will, of course, also be times when a more structured approach to CPD will be undertaken.
Here are just some of those activities that could count towards your CPD:
- Having meetings with colleagues in order to gain a better understanding of an individual issue
- Attending events and webinars in order to complete a gap in your knowledge
- Reading up on the latest professional developments in the sector
- Shadowing a colleague in order to gain an insight into other, newer, ways of working
- Sharing any relevant experience and knowledge with others
- Acting in the capacity of mentor or coach to someone or being coached or mentored yourself
- Self-study – this might be reading or watching relevant educational videos, listening to podcasts relevant to your skillset and also reading the latest project management material
- Volunteering
- By attending accredited and validated training courses for project managers and gaining qualifications
- Job secondment
Whilst some of these activities are those that may be open to everyone there are some that will vary depending on the sector, role of experience of an individual. The types of CPD that you choose to do with vary depending on the areas of your knowledge that you choose to develop further.
When should you do CPD?
Anyone who is an individual member, or a Chartered Project Professional is required to complete 35 hours of CPD in a 12-month period starting from the date they begin. This is an annual cycle, so it is important to keep a track of everything and also ensure that you include all activities that are ongoing, unfinished or even planned for the future in your CPD activity tracker.
CPD isn’t undertaken by those individuals who are on some form of long-term leave, such as parental leave or sick leave. However, if they choose to keep up with this for their own reasons, then it is fine. This is particularly important in those cases where someone is hoping to return to the workplace at a later date. Staying up to date with the latest industry news will help when it comes to going back.
Who benefits from CPD?
The main person who benefits from CPD is, of course, the person who is undertaking it. When you formalise the learning process in this way, then you are able to achieve a sense of direction and purpose that occurs through taking control of your own personal career development. It allows you to make the most of the opportunities that come up and also showcase your achievements. CPD is essential for anyone working in project management. It allows them to not only improve their performance within their current role but also allows them to expand their knowledge and therefore improve their professional capabilities for future roles both within the same company or a new one.
The employer also benefits from CPD. It has been shown that those individuals who actively undertake CPD demonstrate what can be seen as “good citizenship” behaviours. These are things like going that extra mile or being more committed to the work that needs doing. CPD also provides an opportunity for employers and project managers to share ideas of good practice across the company and also ensure that high standards are being maintained within project management. All of this can, of course, also be tied into any appraisals that are required.
The final group that actually benefits from CPD are the company’s clients. They benefit because they are working with a project professional who has made a commitment to stay up to date with such things as the latest good practice.
How should you complete CPD?
Once you have grasped an understanding of the types of CPD that you could undertake and the ways in which it can be really valuable, it is important to ensure that you complete your CPD properly.
Plan
One of the best ways in which a project manager can plan the learning that they want to undertake as part of their CPD is to create a CPD log. There are some good tools out there that can help you with this, and they will allow you to identify both current and future areas where you might want to work on improving your project knowledge and skills. This will help you when it comes to working out what your learning objectives should be for the next year.
Do
You should work on carrying out the activities that you have planned for your CPD. You may also find that you learn some new things along the way that you have not originally planned to do – if this happens, you should make sure that you add them to your CPD log.
Review
It is important that you also take time to reflect and plan based on the information in your CPD, as this will help you to create good value from all of the learning that you have done. Review this learning and the learning you have yet to do, and consider how it has been applied to any work that you have done related to projects. Were there things that you have done differently as a result of this learning? It may be that there are, or it may be that this additional learning has helped to reinforce those things that you have already been putting into practice. For example, the knowledge you’ve gained during an APM PMQ course. This is the point in your CPD where you should also review what it is that you would like to achieve during the coming year. You may have already identified some areas where you feel that there are additional things that you would like to learn that could help you in your role.
