Achieving your CPD target is simple with some planning. We share some tips on how to construct your CPD plan and the Masthead tools available to help you attain your CPD requirements easily before the end of the FSCA CPD Cycle.
Reflect – Identify your training gaps and needs
Identify your individual learning needs and objectives by considering the current and future demands of your work. You may also find it useful to carry out a skills audit and identify key areas for development or increasing knowledge. Consulting with your colleagues and industry contacts on what areas of knowledge and understanding are needed in the workplace and the changes that have happened in the financial services industry may also help you identify your training gaps and needs.
Tip:
Always make sure that the learning areas and topics you choose are relevant and appropriate to the role and function you are in. Also, choose topics that cover a spread of areas including – technical product knowledge; regulatory, compliance and ethics; general knowledge about the financial services and economic environments; and business management and professional skills. The relevance and the spread are important points that the FSCA will look at when assessing your CPD records.
Plan – Construct your training plan
After you identified your areas of development, start planning by identifying the appropriate CPD courses, seminars etc and the time it will take you to complete each activity.
We all have many demands on our time so by identifying the number of CPD hours you need, and then dividing these hours over the number of months you have until the end of the CPD cycle it will help you prioritise and complete CPD activities in smaller, manageable parts over shorter time periods. This will help you avoid the rush to complete as many CPD activities as possible towards the end of the cycle.
For example, if you want 18 CPD hours, then 18 divided by 12 months would give you 1.5 hours per month.
There is a wide range of CPD activities available, and it is up to you to find the CPD activity training format that suits you best. Training formats can include conferences, webinars, seminars, training through online learning, or professional reading.
This is not an exhaustive list of options nonetheless always keep in mind whichever CPD activity you choose, it has to be accredited by a Professional Body, must be allocated an hourly value by this body and the CPD activity must be verifiable in order for it to be accepted by the FSCA.
Record – Keep a log of your CPD activities
By keeping a log of your CPD activities, you will be able to assess your progress and evaluate whether you are on track with your development goals and CPD targets. Regulation also requires you to record all relevant supporting evidence relating to your training. We therefore suggest that your log includes information about the provider you received training from, the name of the CPD activity, the training format, the number of CPD hours, when you completed the training, the cost of the training and, if relevant, the mark you achieved upon completing the training.By keeping this log, you will automatically fulfil the FSCA’s requirement of recording all your CPD activities and if requested to do so, you will be able to provide evidence that you completed the CPD training yourself.