Continuing your professional development
Progress your career through continuing professional development and the support of a mentor.
Continuing professional development (commonly referred to as CPD) describes the broad range of activities that professionals engage in throughout their professional career in order to develop and enhance their abilities. Whereas an academic qualification typically follows a defined period of structured learning, CPD is largely self-directed, although it can be guided or set within a broader professional framework, depending on your role, industry and career stage. Whatever role or industry you choose, continuing professional development is essential for your future career growth. From learning new skills and technologies to staying on top of emerging issues in your field, further development will help you excel in your current role, whilst becoming more competitive for your next step. A professional mentor can also support you within your career, offering advice and support for your development, based on learning from their own experiences.
Understanding CPD
Jobs.ac.uk defines continuing professional development as:
“..the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience that you gain both formally and informally as you work, beyond any initial training. It’s a record of what you experience, learn and then apply. The term is generally used to mean a physical folder or portfolio documenting your development as a professional.”
They argue that CPD needs to:
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be a documented process
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be self-directed: driven by you, not your employer
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focus on learning from experience, reflective learning and review
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help you set developmental goals and objectives
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include both formal and informal learning
There are many benefits to undertaking CPD, such as evaluating your skills and achievements (useful for applications and future career planning), developing skills, qualities and experiences needed to progress within your chosen field and demonstrating your professional commitment to your current supervisor, manager and future employers.
You can watch this short video from the CPD Certification Service about what CPD is:
Identifying CPD
You can undertake a huge range of CPD activities, including webinars, attending conferences and events, undertaking e-learning and being a part of a network or forum, but it’s important that you identify CPD that will best suit you, your current skills and your future career goals.
As a postgraduate research student or early career researcher, the Vitae Researcher Development Framework provides an excellent structure for continuing professional development and is recognised by funders and key research employers. The Vitae website provides advice, support and resources to help you develop each of the skills, qualities and attributes within the framework.
Whilst undertaking CPD is often a self-directed process, this process might be more structured if it is guided by an external organisation or body, which often encourages or facilitates continuing professional development for its members. There are over 1000 institutes and professional bodies across the UK so it’s important to manage and record any CPD activities you undertake in line with the bodies that you are a member of. Choosing to be a member of a professional body or institute is in itself a fantastic example of continuing professional development! If you are yet to join any, you might consider exploring the many different professional bodies out there and joining one (or several) that support your career goals. These include:
- Organisations linked to your research area or academic discipline – for example the British Psychological Society, Institute of Physics, Royal Society of Chemistry
- Organisations relevant to higher education (if you are a postgraduate research student or employed in a higher education institution) – examples include Advance HE (who support various learning and teaching qualifications undertaken by postgraduate research students and academic teaching staff) or the Association of Research Managers and Administrators
- Organisations linked to your role and sector (not research) – examples include the Law Society or the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (for HR professionals)
HMRC hold a list of all approved learning societies and professional organisations.
You could search the websites of the research councils within the UK (relevant to your discipline or research) as they often have specific guidance and advice on the skills expected of working within their sector.
The CPD Certification Service also have a useful video about the different forms that CPD can take:
How mentoring can help your career
Mentoring is also an incredibly valuable tool for your professional and career development. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) define mentoring as:
“Mentoring in the workplace describes a relationship in which a more experienced colleague shares their greater knowledge to support the development of an inexperienced individual. It calls on the skills of questioning, listening, clarifying and reframing that are associated with coaching….”
For early career researchers, a mentor is a more experienced researcher who can advise and support you, as well as share insight and learning from their own experiences. Ideally, a mentoring relationship leads to learning for both participants and both the mentor and mentee develop skills, knowledge and awareness through the relationship.
If you wish to pursue a non-research related role, you might find a mentor working in the field you aspire to be a part of. Mentoring is typically an informal relationship that you might establish yourself with a trusted contact, but higher education institutions often offer a more formalised programme, such as Cardiff University’s Academic Mentoring Programme that early career researchers can join.
As you progress within your career, you might consider becoming a mentor for those less experienced in your field. Vitae has excellent advice on mentoring, including how mentoring can benefit the wider research community.