What is CPD and why is it important?

In 2010 Esky Learning Ltd became CPD certified, but what is CPD and why did we get involved?

CPD stands for Continuing Personal or Professional Development and ‘describes a commitment to structured skills enhancement and personal or professional competence’ according to the CPD Certification Service.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says that CPD should:

  • be continuous – professionals should always be looking for ways to improve performance
  • be the responsibility of the individual learner to own and manage
  • be driven by the learning needs and development of the individual
  • be evaluative rather than descriptive of what has taken place
  • be an essential component of professional and personal life, never an optional extra

Using CPD certified materials provides a clearer structure to self-study and allows the learner to show achievements, not only helping in learning activities encouraged by the workplace, but highly useful for jobseekers to boost their CVs in a competitive marketplace.

Some workplaces or institutes are stricter on proving CPD, for example the ifs School of Finance requires its advisers to demonstrate how they took the knowledge gained by further study and put it to the test, and that ‘reading alone is not CPD‘. This ethos is reflected in other organisations too.

This is why Esky was keen to become recognised by the CPD Certification Service, because our courses are tracked in a learning management system and produce a certificate upon successful completion, usually following an assessment, enabling learners to demonstrate their development as part of a CPD programme.

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Esky Learning Ltd. Registered in England Number 6631714.
VAT Number 939455873