Introducing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for Ireland’s IT professionals

All about CPD for IT professionals

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Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a combination of learning and development approaches that plays a key role globally in areas such as IT, engineering, accounting, medicine, law and marketing.


For professionals, CPD is about managing your own learning and career progression so that you can deliver results to your stakeholders – such as clients, management and other business functions.

Assess your skills with CareerPlus

To manage your career and for insight into your skills, CareerPlus can help you reach further.

This online tool sits alongside your CPD record to assess your IT and business skills.

Why use it:

  • To build a professional profile to help demonstrate your skills for a potential promotion or new job
  • To gain recognition for your current skills
  • To match your skills against 23 common IT job profiles, to see how far you match towards a new career path
  • To find out any skills you are missing to reach your career goals
Login to start your CPD record here

Still need convincing?

  • We’re so sure you’ll see the benefits of CareerPlus that we’re offering three months free membership to get you well on your way to analysing your skills.

Just email CPD215 to cpd@ics.ie to activate your free membership.

Email CPD215 to cpd@ics.ie to activate your free membership.

How CPD benefits everyone

CPD benefits the professional

CPD or building your skills is not a reactionary process in response to a promotion or new role; it should be ongoing and thought out. In doing so, your performance in your current role will improve and make you more attractive for your new role or promotion. CPD benefits include:

Improves your employability and helps you advance in your career.

Builds skills required to work with better employers and better projects.

Improves your professional credibility, confidence and job-satisfaction.

Builds your professional network with others – online and at conferences, training and events.

CPD benefits organisations

Employers too can benefit from the availability of a clearly-defined, structured and progressive framework for both measuring and encouraging the professional development of those performing IT and IT management roles, both within their organisations and throughout the economy generally.

Improves staff performance by fostering the continuous building of skills and abilities.

A robust professional development structure can be an attractive feature of potential new hires.

Improves staff morale, retention and company image, and exposes staff to industry best practices.

When linked to performance appraisals, CPD can help employees focus their achievements.

CPD benefits the profession

IT professionals play an increasingly critical role at all levels in organisations of every type and size. It is important that their contribution and development is recognised and valued.

An abundance of well trained, experienced and competent professionals enhances the status of the ICT profession.

Progressive CPD promotes research and evidence-based practice increasing professional recognition.

CPD provides stakeholders with evidence of the professions commitment to a high quality service.

Ireland’s IT professionals: the numbers

Information Technology accounts for one-third of Ireland's exports by value and one-quarter of the economy by turnover.

SOURCE: CEPIS Survey of Professional e-Competence in Europe: Ireland Report

0%

of IT managers have a
degree or higher

IT companies
In Ireland

%

of Irish exports
by value

additional professionals needed by 2018

The four types of CPD

Continuous Professional Development is about more than attending training courses. A wide range of activities can count towards earning CPD points.

See the four-part CPD model below.

FORMAL

Intentional, structured activities leading to formal recognition.

EXAMPLES:
Professional or academic qualifications relevant to your profession.

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NON-FORMAL

Intentional and structured, but not leading to formal certification.

EXAMPLES:
Attendance at conferences and events, keeping up with the latest developments.

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INFORMAL

Everyday activities that enhance your professional expertise.

EXAMPLES:
Job shadowing, secondments and working on new/stretching projects.

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CONTRIBUTION

Supporting the profession, the wider community and society.

EXAMPLES:
Mentoring,contributing to and helping with not-for-profit events.

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CPD over your career span

CPD is a unique journey for each professional – the skills and methods you develop and apply will evolve as your career does. As you grow in experience and expertise, you may focus on some CPD weightings more than others.

An IT student will typically allocate most of their time and effort to formal education and study. As you can see in the example below, some 80% of the individual effort is allocated to formal CPD.

Formal

Non-formal

Informal

Contribution

An IT professional may allocate more of their time to on-the-job development and less to formal learning. Attending conferences and other events will further boost their non-formal CPD points.

Formal

Non-formal

Informal

Contribution

An IT leader may decide to give back to the community or mentor junior professionals. They may also return to formal learning by pursuing a leadership development programme.

Formal

Non-formal

Informal

Contribution

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Managing your CPD online

As an ICT professional, it is your responsibility to keep your knowledge and competence up to date. In turn, CPD helps you to develop your skills and achieve your career goals.

Why record your CPD:

  • It helps you review your achievements.
  • It can showcase your competencies and achievements.
  • It provides tangible and marketable evidence for your career progression.

Recording your CPD:

  • Log in to the ICS website.
  • Click CPD.
  • Record your CPD duration and description in the relevant category.

As you record each new CPD entry, you will see your total CPD points grow.

Login to start your CPD record here