As of September 2023, almost 1.1 million people were employed in computer programming, consultancy and related activities in the United Kingdom, up from just over 1 million a year earlier. Continuous professional development is vital to make yourself stand out for the top jobs and advance your career in the tech sector.
Why is CPD important for my career?
They say every day is a school day, and it’s true that we’re learning all the time — but how often do we actually keep a note of what we’ve learnt? The problem is, without a record, it can be difficult to prove how much your knowledge has grown.
Continuous professional development (CPD) is a two part process. The first part is all about developing the knowledge and skills you need in your career; this could mean attending a course, completing some e-learning, reading a book, watching a video, or listening to a podcast.
The second stage is easy to overlook, but just as important: keeping a record of what you’ve done. Having a record means you’ve got proof of what you’ve learnt available whenever you need it, whether you’re looking for your next opportunity or just want to ace your objectives at your next review. This is often known as a personal or professional development plan (PDP).
How does CPD benefit me?
- It helps you grow: you could use CPD to get a deeper understanding of one particular topic related to your job or you could broaden your skillset and build new knowledge to support your work.
- It keeps you up to date: maybe you’ve already gone through some in depth training at the start of your career or you’ve built up your expertise over the years. Completing regular CPD helps you to keep up with changes and advances in your industry.
- It boosts your employability: if you’re looking for a promotion or a role at a new company, being able to demonstrate that you’ve learnt new skills and kept up to date will make you more attractive to potential employers — especially if you’ve gained some recognised certificates.
Why CPD in digital skills is essential
Keeping up to date is important in any industry, but things can move especially quickly when it comes to technology. If you work in an IT or digital role, you'll already have a front row seat to how rapidly technology can move on and how quickly it's become integral to almost every role — so keeping your digital skills current is important for everyone.
How can I plan my CPD?
To plan your CPD, you’ll need to identify what to learn and how to learn it. First, think about what your goals are and then think about the skills or knowledge that you’ll need to achieve them. Once you’ve done that, you can tailor your search to find exactly what you need. For example:
- If you’re looking for a career change or you’re at the start of your working life, development plans based on a specific job title or sector could give you some ideas
- If you want to build skills for the job you currently have, you could think about your objectives for the year or the projects that are coming up and search for relevant training
- If you’re confident in your technical skills, are there some recent advances in your area that you want to know more about? Or are there soft skills that you want to work on?
For you
Be part of something bigger, join BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
There are lots of tools available to help you plan your CPD; you can access a personal development planning tool with a free BCS account, or your employer might have a planning and tracking tool available for you to use.
Remember, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Make the most of other people’s experience to help with your planning. Are there people in your network with similar goals to you? Sharing ideas could help. Is there someone who’s already achieved your next goal? They probably have some great advice for you about how they got there. But you don’t need to already have the right connections; joining a professional body can help you to connect with other people in your industry, get invited to events, or find a mentor. Find out more about BCS membership for IT professionals.
What CPD courses can I take?
BCS have a range of CPD courses for IT professionals, which are all available through BCS Discover. Our in depth courses start at £36, but there’s plenty of other content to explore with a free BCS account. You can also find out more about BCS courses on our website. Don’t forget to add any courses you do to your PDP!
The statistics in the introduction can be found here: Computer programming and related activities employment in the UK 2011-2023 - Statista
