As a professional, of whatever level, in whichever country, professional development is probably something you have come across.

In this article we’ll explain what it is, why it is important and how you can fit it into your working week and track your progress.

What is Continuous Professional Development

Continuous professional development is the act of continuing to learn and develop your professional skills in an area over time.

In other words, you don’t simply take a training course early in your career and then do nothing else to refresh your skills over the following 30 years.

It’s also a requirement of a number of professional bodies for managers.

Project managers, for example, who hold professional certifications from PMI, have to undertake professional development activities over the course of 3 years, and other professional bodies and associations for all disciplines and industries have similar requirements.

Why Professional Development is Important

Professional development is important because it helps you to plan your own career journey.

It’s part of taking active responsibility for learning new things and developing new skills. These can help you get new positions in the future.

It’s also important as it helps demonstrate your competence to your current or future employer.

Who would you rather hire: someone who last did a training course 20 years ago or someone who regularly attends industry seminars to better understanding the evolving marketplace?

Carrying out your professional development activities can help you grow in confidence, and become more self-reflective, leading to better learning outcomes and resilience – all good skills to develop for work.