It is true that professionals all feel this nagging guilt regarding CPD, as something that has to be recorded annually, but for many a heavy business schedule eats in to the business year and attention is diverted away from the CPD obligations stipulated by their chartered institutions. In many cases individuals do little or no CPD for years at a time, only picking it up when they are chased by their institution to submit their CPD Development Plan (covering a three year period). Some professionals live in fear of being selected for CPD submission, but really it does not have to be as hysterical a system as this.

There are many types of study that conform to CPD, and it amazes me that people are not aware of the plethora of courses and study modes that they can put in to their CPD plan. It is not just lectures and seminars that are eligible, but it also includes reading articles, making presentations, attending workshops, doing research, and even writing in a forum like this.

One of our club members once contacted me expressing his concerns when asked to submit his CPD Plan to the RICS. He could only account for 15 hrs of CPD in a particular year. After going through all the types of CPD with him, additional study (that included a language course, research he did for a presentation to other property professionals, and articles he had read in trade journals) took this well over 40 hrs.

I think you will find that if you are genuinely interested in your career you will naturally obtain CPD as you go, just through your own working routine. Seminars and lectures are valuable ways to brush up on certain topics, but when it comes down to it they are additional to the main CPD you get on a daily basis.

David Foster
Director
www,cpdclub.co.uk

This article discusses CPD as a positive aspect of Lifelong Learning and issues associated with the realistic application of CPD for individuals and institutions.. Explorations of motivational factors of why people engage (personal, professional, employer driven, etc.) are briefly expressed. The design and content of various models of CPD schemes are also considered whilst trying to capture the reasons and outcomes of undertaking such a scheme. Roscoe concludes by expressing his views on what issues the UK Institute of Learning and Teaching should address in collating a new scheme aimed at HE professionals.

I would find this helpful as I could then target my time to that type of development that is more relevant to my area of work , additionally in may then deter people attend a training event purely for the number of hours they can then add to their annual total.

B Birkett

Pam. Thomas OPD

Just wanted to say what an excellent site. Sandy