Continuing Professional Development: Enabling Successful Engagement in the Global Graduate Job Market

This article discusses the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in enabling successful engagement in the global graduate job market. It explains the core components of the CPD process and how it helps individuals to manage their development on an ongoing basis. It also highlights the benefits of CPD for employers and how they can support their workforce in undertaking CPD courses. The article concludes by emphasizing the significance of CPD as a powerful tool for career development and progression.

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Continuing Professional Development
Student Name
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1. Activities to Enable Successful Engagement in the Global Graduate Job Market
Demonstrating a High Level of Competence in Employability Soft Skills
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. Accordingly, CPD is a process
that involves the tracking as well as documentation of one’s experience, skills, and
knowledge that individual gains either formally or informally while working past any initial
training (Megginson, and Whitaker, 2017). Therefore, CPD is a record of an individual’s
experience, which means what they have learned and can apply it in their daily career life.
The CPD process plays a significant role in a person’s training course because it aids them in
managing their development on an ongoing basis. The primary goal of the CPD is significant
as places an individual in a better position of recording, reviewing as well as be reflecting on
what they have learned. As a result, the CPD process consists of certain core components. For
the justification of the CPD process, it demands the following features. It has to be a
documented process; it has to be self-directed such that it is conducted by the trainee and not
their supervisor or employer. On the same note, the CPD process is supposed to center on
learning through experience review in addition to learning through reflection; thus he CPD
acts as a supporting element for one to set up their developmental goals and objectives
(Kennedy, 2014, p. 689). Also, the CPD process has to include both formal and informal
learning techniques. In light of this statement, continuing professional development is a
significant tool in an individual’s development course as well as their future progress in some
ways. For instance, CPD is a fundamental tool for the enhancements of a person’s skills and
standards for their personal and their industries.
Continuing Professional Development is a powerful tool in an individual’s career life
in a range of ways. In this sense, a CPD program is indeed an essential career development
tool, since, through the progression of one’s knowledge, experience, and skills, it helps to

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make them grown and become more confident that they are working at the topmost part of
their profession (Megginson, and Whitaker, 2017).
With the constantly and ever globalizing as well as competitive society, the
significance of Continuing Professional Development might not be possible not to be
overstated. The globe’s industries are regularly evolving. Thus this creates exciting
opportunities, and nonetheless, these opportunities also accompany themselves with
challenges. Therefore, with the existence of CPD it makes possible for a person to constantly
apply attention to vital fields of development by taking suitable actions to cut down on
existing shortfalls in knowledge (Kennedy, 2014, p. 691). On the same level, one is supposed
to look at Continuing Professional Development as a way to stand competitively with their
peers as well as a chance to differentiate o oneself at the time whereby this might not be
needed. As such time may include times like business acquisition, job interviews or tenders
for new business only but to mention a few. Since most of the people are becoming
professionally qualified with the same qualifications, CPD stands out as the most significant
means of differentiating an individual from the pack.
On the other hand, Continuing Professional Development is not only important to an
individual alone, but it also plays a significant role for the employers too. Recent research has
shown that a great number of employers are currently, taking a proactive as well as a
supportive role with the CPD as a requirement from their workforce (Kennedy, 2014, p. 693).
Apart from the industry association, the usefulness of CPD in the entire business is
expanding, with more and more employers realizing the advantage of a highly skilled,
committed and motivated employee (Megginson, and Whitaker, 2017). While there exists a
common misconception by some of the employers who perceive that CPD is a waste of time,
it is likely that it will lead to loss of time that would have been spending on business.
Nonetheless, the presence of a highly flexible CPD which is a suitable requirement for

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business, it has significantly skyrocketed over the past a few years. With the intensified
online learning offering short learning courses, educational shows in addition to workshops
that can take even less than a day, these events can allow for e-learning seminars as well as
novel business connectivity and revenue chances.
Accordingly, with the ever-evolving business setting, it calls for people to make sure
that they keep themselves with up-to-date advancements in the business sector. The business
sector is constantly evolving, ranging from the services to the operational security things
which are the security policies enforced by security firms such as the SIA (Kennedy, 2014, p.
689). Despite the facts that the constant advances in the business arena keep the doors wide
open for endless opportunities for people working in the security department, it at the same
time present a problem of ensuring that a person has kept their skill up to date. In light of this,
Continuing Professional Development acts as an employee’s helper because of the constant
attention application to vital development fields by identifying the best paths to brush up in
parts that they are likely to be lacking.
Though the completion of CPD ultimately remains in the hands of an
individual and their participation as well as involvement with the industry professional
institute, a majority of the employers are beginning to see the need of CPD (Megginson, and
Whitaker, 2017). Thus they are now supporting and taking active responsibilities to motivate
their employees to undertake courses in CPD. Consequently, the employer’s encouragement
means that a better employee is a better business. Since workers who make decisions to
continue professional development make a decision to update their skills and improving their
knowledge, such employees stand to perform better in their jobs. Kennedy (2014) notes that a
worker who chose to continue professional development is more likely to equip themselves to
perform better in the place of work as compared to those who have not gone past their

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academic qualifications. Also, most employers currently believe that by supporting CPD it is
likely to save the company the money that could have been spent on training new employees.
2. Demonstrate the ability to take responsibility for their own professional career
development.
Continuing Professional Development helps an individual to attain their goals and career
progression. Through, CPD, it places the ball in a person’s court, thus it up to the person to
stimulate their career expansion in the direction of their choice. In this cases, individuals are
required to possess flexibility regarding learning so that to support them in the identification
of areas and competencies that the desire to improve (Kennedy, 2014, p. 690). An individual
cannot be wasting time by learning things that already come easily to them. Instead, they will
concentrate their efforts on areas that they can intensify their confidence and aid them to
realize their goals as well as the development of their career.
Continuing Professional Development coexists to make sure that a person is in the position to
enhance their capabilities, experience, and skills once they have formally attained the
necessary qualifications. At this time, academic qualifications are usually complete.
Therefore the person can only be working on their particular job or industry function
(Megginson, and Whitaker, 2017). Indeed, CPD is essential because it supports for further
learning through a structured, relevant and practical manner, which guarantees that there are
applicable efficiencies in learning. Consequently, CPD provides a person with the
opportunity to focus on particular knowledge and skills which are needed within a short span
like say six months to one year. Certainly, to be confident CPD offers one a recognizable
improvement within their skill set and proficiency.
Accordingly, the CPD programs play a vital role in boosting an individual’s self-
esteem because it makes them be in their role. Thus it makes them enjoy one’s career as

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rewarding. Similarly, CPD programs have proved to be critical elements when one is striving
to understand theirs about their strengths as well as weaknesses in their place of work. As a
result, these CPD programs work out to see to it that they make it possible for able to
concentrate on certain areas that they are interested in working on, thus enable the
progression heir skills in the best way possible.
In conclusion, Continuing Professional Development is a significant investment tool
to an individual’s career, which is doubly necessary if one has to become a role model in the
commitment to learning and development that they expect from other people. Accordingly,
undertaking a CPD as well as maintaining a suitable record acts as a powerful job
recommendation and with time it will become a necessity for most of the professional bodies.

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Bibliography
Kennedy, A., 2014. Understanding continuing professional development: the need for theory
to impact on policy and practice. Professional development in education, 40(5), pp.688-697.
Megginson, D. and Whitaker, V., 2017. Continuing professional development. Kogan Page
Publishers.