What are CPDs?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a common term shared by numerous professions in many countries. It is the way by which all professionals maintain and update their knowledge and skills after qualification. It is a requirement of Membership that a number of core CPDs are undertaken each year
A commitment to a CPD programme helps to ensure that members of this Institute are keeping up to date with the latest developments in a rapidly changing industry. CPD provides an opportunity to update personal and professional skills, a platform to engage with experts in the industry and a forum for the exchange ideas and best practice.
The ethos of CPD is to offer unbiased educational learning and it is a critical requirement for the CPD provider that lectures and visits cannot be a sales or marketing pitch. The content of a CPD must be generic and should not include trade names or brand names, except at the beginning where a CPD provider can include a short introduction to their Company products or services.
There is no set format that a CPD must take and the following list includes some of the options open to members:
- seminars and lectures
- study tours
- project tours
- factory visits
- exhibitions
- as part of a roadshow
- structured courses
- webinars