Under the acronym CPD stands for so-called continuous professional development.

The CPD Standards Office defines the term as: “the deliberate maintenance and development of knowledge and skills needed to perform in a professional context”ⁱ.

It can take place through formal education pathways (e.g. courses, seminars or workshops led by professional instructors) as well as informally (learning new skills in the workplace, mentoring, e-learning or self-study).

The term can also be used to refer to a physical folder or portfolio that documents an individual’s career development.

Its main purpose is to document our professional development in order to analyse, reflect and focus on further learning and experience.

In some companies, there is a requirement for each employee to undertake a certain number of activities during the calendar year that affect their development. Everything must be documented as a condition of, for example, membership of a professional organisation.