The marketplace is changing, regardless of your industry or job role: best practices change, technology changes, and consumer behaviours and needs change. If you don’t continue learning, you’ll quickly find yourself slipping behind your peers, struggling to meet your employer’s standards, and possibly losing out on promotions to others.
Every aspect of a company needs training and ensuring that it is ongoing adds value to employees and directors. If you feel your skills are stagnating, ask your employer if they’d be willing to invest in CPD-accredited training courses. We will discuss the importance and advantages of pursuing courses with CPD accreditation to sharpen your skills and keep them updated.
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What Is CPD?
Continuing professional development (CPD), also known as continuing education (CE), is the deliberate and continuous maintenance and development of the expertise and skills necessary to do your job effectively.
CPD may also be referred to as Continuing Education (CE) or Continuing Professional Education (CPE) in different regions or countries. It’s worth noting that these words are often used interchangeably with CPD, and they all refer to a systematic approach to lifelong learning.
These skills can be acquired by reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, or attending conferences and networking events. Many occupations, however, use the phrase “continuing professional development” formally and may require a certain amount of development activity to be completed and recorded each year.
In occupations where workers are required to perform a certain amount of CPD regularly, the CPD activities must be organized and certified, which means they’ve been subjected to a thorough third-party examination to ensure that the training content and implementation meet industry standards.
Continuing Professional Development and the Covid-19 Pandemic
With its tight global lockout constraints, it’s no wonder that the coronavirus pandemic has given people a sudden surge of free time. Some people are unsure what to do with their newfound freedom; however, for those who need to undertake CPD, this can be a precious time, and they should take advantage of it.
Since continuing education can be completed using online learning resources, it is vital to get such courses accreditation for continuing professional development to not spend on materials that do not meet standards.
Benefits of CPD Accredited Courses
With the e-learning industry predicted to be worth $315 billion by 2025, courses are springing up all over the internet, some of which contain misinformation or material that does not meet students’ needs. This is why CPD accreditation is important: it ensures that your time, resources, and effort have been well spent. However, this isn’t the only advantage of CPD accreditation by online learning; here are a few more reasons to enrol in these courses.
Advancement of Knowledge
CPD accredited courses are written by professionals in the fields you want to learn from and are revised regularly with the most up-to-date material.
Some occupations or industries often make it mandatory for participants to actively participate or take CPD approved courses to remain current in their field and respond to daily changes during the pandemic.
Aids Career Progression
If you want to advance in your current position and be considered for promotions, you can use CPD to set yourself apart from those who have not actively participated in this type of training. It can also make you more critical in the industry because you can contribute to the business. Because of the current pandemic, companies can only want to hire or retain valuable people.
You can keep yourself occupied with the course during the pandemic so that when opportunities arise, you can say you’ve taken some courses relevant to the field.
Learning Flexibility
One of the most significant impediments to furthering our education is a lack of time, as even online workshops, webinars, and formal education adhere to strict timetables.
Full-time careers, family life, and social obligations can obstruct our ability to learn, and fitting learning within these responsibilities can be challenging. CPD accredited courses, luckily, can be taken at any time of day and at your rate. CPD courses are compatible with mobile and tablet devices, and many are available as applications.
Access To Experts
CPD approved courses, unlike some others, provide access to experts and specialists in your field of study. Furthermore, you can contact these experts at any time during the course for clarification or even more in-depth answers to any of the course material. This access, however, does not end when you complete your training course. You can contact them for a long time after that.
Restores Interest
We’ve all been there: working in a profession that once piqued our interest but has since become stale. A CPD course will provide you with the most up-to-date knowledge in your industry, much of which even company directors might not be aware of. CPD courses can revive your enthusiasm, and you may experience the same degree of excitement as you did on your first day of work.
