Continuing Professional
Development
One of the primary benefits associated with attaining a certified professional designation is that the public, employer and clients alike, are assured that the practitioner or professional’s applied skill and competence is maintained and monitered.
Why Career Development matters to organisations
Careers are how higher-level and business-specific skills and knowledge are acquired.
Careers are how skills and knowledge are deployed and spread in organisations, as employees move from one job to another in response to where they are needed – which is critical to organisational flexibility.
Career movement is also how culture and values – the “glue” of the organisation – are transmitted and how personal networks are extended and strengthened: these networks are often vital to rapid and effective action.
Career development is an essential tool for attracting, motivating and retaining good-quality employees. Research in the UK has demonstrated that providing career opportunities is one of 11 important practices that influence organisational performance (Purcell et al., 2003); and that there is a link between the extent to which high flyers experience career support and their intention to stay with their employer (Winter & Jackson, 1999).
It also matters to individuals
Your career is your own life story; how you make sense of your working life and achieve some sense of direction and progression in work and inside yourself.
Your career is how you manage your working life to earn income and balance your work with your other interests and responsibilities.
Career development is about being fully aware of your work opportunities and making conscious and proactive choices about the kind of work you do.
Career development is how you develop your skills and CV to improve your chances of future employability.