Continuing professional development (CPD)
Also known as: CPD, continuing education
Continuing professional development, or CPD, is the ongoing learning professionals do to keep their knowledge, skills, and licences current throughout their career. Many professional bodies and regulators require a minimum amount of CPD each year or cycle, usually counted in hours or points, especially in healthcare, finance, insurance, accounting, and law.
How CPD works
A professional body sets the rules: how many hours or points are needed per cycle, which activities count, and what evidence is required. Activities can include courses, conferences, workshops, reading, and on-the-job learning.
Professionals keep a record of what they did and submit it, or the employer tracks it for them.
Why employers track CPD
In regulated roles, a lapsed licence can mean someone cannot legally do their job. Employers therefore track CPD to make sure people meet their requirements on time, and to plan the training that gets them there.
It also shows regulators and clients that the organisation keeps its people qualified.
Read the certification tracking definition
Tracking CPD in an LMS
An LMS can award hours or points for each course, let people record external learning with evidence, show progress against the requirement for the current cycle, and report who is on track.
Keeping internal and external CPD in one place removes the end-of-cycle scramble for certificates.
How BFAA runs licensing and training
Frequently asked questions
What is CPD?
Continuing professional development: the ongoing learning professionals do to keep their skills and licences current, often required and counted in hours or points.
Who needs CPD?
Many regulated professions, including healthcare, finance and insurance, accounting, law, and engineering. The rules come from the relevant professional body or regulator.
What counts as CPD?
It depends on the professional body, but usually courses, workshops, conferences, structured reading, and some on-the-job learning, with evidence.
How are CPD hours tracked?
By recording each activity with its hours or points and evidence, and comparing the total against the requirement for the cycle. An LMS can do this automatically for internal courses.
Can external CPD be recorded in an LMS?
Many LMS platforms let people log external activities with certificates, so all CPD sits in one record.