Remaining effective in the workplace is a crucial requirement in any industry in order to build an efficient and productive workforce.
Continuing to enhance and develop your own skills, or that of your staff, through training and development, is an invaluable tool to assist in both motivation and profitability for individuals across all industry sectors. The emphasis and commitment to lifelong learning is known as Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and is a practical way for individuals to enhance their skillset and ensure they continue to remain effective, capable and knowledgeable in their field.
Why is CPD important?
CPD is now a fundamental element for professionals and employers alike. It encourages a structured and methodical route to learning, which enables key staff to be retained, and ensures they have the knowledge and capability to remain effective and competent in their role. By developing and enhancing skills, the productivity and efficiency of a business, organisation or industry is also enhanced, and as a result, both employers and individuals benefit from CPD.
With this in mind, the importance and relevance of CPD should never be underestimated. Whereas previously, training and development was often unintentional and simply reactive to workplace scenarios or situations, CPD encourages a considered and proactive outlook, where training and development is viewed as conscious and empowering. CPD is an investment in positive change for individuals in their careers and in turn the businesses or industries they work in.
How to Gain CPD Points
No matter how established you are in your career, we’re sure you’ll agree there’s always room for improving your skills. Our training courses and diplomas are accredited by The CPD Standards Office. This means training with us will not only help your personal and career progression, but we can also ensure that your personal CPD requirements are fulfilled and proven with a certified track record of all training that you undertake with us.
You can find a comprehensive list of the Pitman Training options available – just click here.
We’ve listed below some of our popular courses and diplomas, and their CPD points value:
Administrative Assistant Diploma - 140 CPD points
Executive PA Diploma - 300 CPD points
Marketing Assistant Diploma - 200 CPD points
Microsoft Office PLUS Diploma - 150 CPD points
Office Manager Diploma - 215 CPD points
Secretarial Diploma - 190 CPD points
Microsoft Office - Word 2013 - 24 CPD points
Microsoft Office – Excel 2013 - 24 CPD points
On completion of your course, you will receive a Pitman Training certificate, confirming you have been trained to the highest standards. You’ll have the work ready skills to improve your efficiency, capability and contribution to the team in your place of work. Also you will receive confirmation of the CPD points gained when training with us, which can be submitted as part of your CPD records.
All of our Pitman Training Centres in Ireland are CPD accredited, so you can rest assured, wherever you are based, one of our friendly course advisors is on hand to assist you with your CPD requirements. Contact your local course advisor today or click here to find your nearest Pitman Training Centre.
CPD, Pitman Training and Engineers Ireland
A great example of CPD is the work that has been done by Engineers Ireland, the national representative body for Engineers, Technicians and Technologists. Within the range of their activity to support personal development in member organisations, Engineers Ireland have created a Register of CPD Training Providers, and this is a key component of their CPD programme. The register exists to identify relevant and high-standard learning opportunities, and we are pleased to confirm that Engineers Ireland has endorsed our training courses and included Pitman Training in their list of Registered Training Providers.
How to approach your employer for CPD
Approaching your employer and talking to them about CPD training could be one of the best moves you make in your career.
Start by contacting your HR department and seeing if there are any formal CPD requirements in place for your company or your role, or any procedures which encourage you to undertake CPD. If there are, find out how many CPD points or hours you are required to fulfil and the budget allocation for this. You can then start to plan how to carry out and undertake your CPD activity, working with either your HR department or your manager.
If there are no formal CPD requirements or policies in place, think about and research how you would like to enhance your skillset in your current role, and become more of an asset to your employer. Gather information on the training which you feel will enhance your skills, efficiency and the knowledge you have in your role. Your local centre can provide you with our course fact sheets or course outlines, as these provide comprehensive information of what each course entails and learning outcomes.
You can also contact one of our friendly local course advisors who will be more than happy to talk to you about our courses and the number of CPD points you will gain. They will be happy to provide a comprehensive overview and tailored letters to help support you in your approach. Once you have gathered the relevant information, present it to your manager and talk to them about what investment or funding is available. You can outline the advantages of you undertaking CPD training, and how this benefits you, and in turn the overall success and productivity of the company.
We will work with you and your employer to support you throughout your training, and ensure you work towards fulfilling your CPD aims and objectives, and gain the relevant certification and proof to confirm the skills and CPD points you have acquired.
Our friendly Course Advisors have a wealth of experience in helping individuals and employers pick a tailored solution for their CPD requirements. To find out what’s right for you or your employees, visit our locations page to find your nearest Pitman Training Centre or you can call us for free on 1800 532632.
