The new CPD cycle commences on 1 June of every year, we look at how to ensure that you meet your requirements for the current cycle.
What is CPD?
CPD refers to Continuous Professional Development. The FSCA introduced CPD requirements to ensure that FSPs, key individuals and representatives maintain their competence and that their knowledge, skills and abilities remain up to date in a changing and dynamic environment. The CPD cycle runs for a 12-month period each year starting on 1 June and ending on 31 May.
Every FSP has a regulatory responsibility to maintain a structured approach when it comes to the completion of CPD requirements.
Why does CPD matter and how does it help your business?
CPD activities that pertain to the relevant business activities will not only help you to meet your regulatory requirements but will serve as a specialised investment in the expertise, knowledge and further development of the business and drives key role players to maintain the most recent and up to date content pertaining to the services they provide on behalf of the business, ensuring that clients receive the highest quality of financial services.
What are the minimum CPD hours required per CPD cycle?
- 6 hours of CPD activities for a single subclass of business within a single class of business;
- 12 hours of CPD activities for more than one subclass of business within a single class of business; and
- 18 hours of CPD activities for more than one class of business.
It is important to ensure that CPD activities that are carried out pertain to the relevant functions and roles and enhance the expertise, knowledge, and overall professionalism of the FSP/key individual/ representative in line with their respective registration and profile.
How do you select your CPD activities and plan for the cycle?
The type and combination of CPD activities undertaken should be relevant, contribute to the knowledge, skills and ethical standards of the FSP, its KIs and Reps. It should also address any identified needs or gaps. In order to achieve this, a CPD training plan is a practical and obligatory solution that can be easily implemented to help you track your CPD process. A CPD training plan directs the FSPs CPD activities and creates a structured plan for the business to follow to ensure that that FSPs, Key Individuals and Representatives can easily and timeously achieve the relevant number of CPD hours for the current CPD cycle (1 June – 31 May) and that the CPD activities are relevant.
Regardless of the regulatory obligations, a practical, properly considered and planned CPD training plan and CPD training process is vital to the FSP as a business because it mitigates the risk of not staying up to date which may result in financial services being provided by Representatives and Key Individuals who are not competent which will negatively impact on the FSPs clients and may result in client complaints and or penalties for a breach of both regulatory requirements but also failures in terms of TCF.
Resources to assist you throughout the CPD Cycle
CPD Training Plan
The CPD Training Plan guideline outlines the criteria that a CPD activity needs to meet, the types and combination of CPD activities to be undertaken, the spread of categories your CPD training should cover and the important questions to ask before selecting your CPD activities.
Get your CPD Training Plan guideline here.
Online CPD Package
Our CPD Package gives you access to unlimited online CPD training that is relevant, convenient and affordable. You will gain access to a spread of categories as required by the FSCA as all learning activities have been allocated to a category to ensure you are able to comply with the FSCA’s requirements.
There are over 150 accredited online learning activities to choose from. Depending on the online activity you choose to complete, you can earn between 0.5 hours and 3.5 hours.
Find out more about the CPD Package on the Masthead Learning Centre here.