As your apprentice comes to the end of their Apprenticeship programme, it is easy to feel like your work as an employer is done… but is there more you can do for their professional development? To put it plainly, the answer is always YES.
Learning is a lifelong process; the world (and how we know and understand it) is constantly changing and developing. Investing in your employee’s personal development ensures their skills grow alongside the new knowledge we receive every day.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) methods allow you to identify the areas your employee may need to improve on and let you take the appropriate professional action and build upon any of their knowledge shortfalls.
Why is Continuing Professional Development important?
Whether your goal is to improve an employee’s digital skills, help them brush up on health and safety in the workplace, or get them first-aid trained, it is important to look forward and consider how you can help improve your employee’s overall skillset.
Investing in your staff and their training is proven to increase productivity and create a loyal and driven workforce. Your business will be equipped with fulfilled employees with a range of knowledge, experience, and transferable skills!
Investing in the CPD of your newly qualified apprentice benefits your company just as much as it benefits them. You are futureproofing your business by ensuring their academic qualifications and practical skills are up to scratch.
Related Reading: Benefits of Training your Existing Staff
Why choose a Professional Development Apprenticeship?
You have watched your newly qualified apprentice gain confidence, grow personally, and develop professionally over the duration of their Level 3 Apprenticeship. Imagine where they could be after another?
By enrolling your employee on an Apprenticeship programme, you are showing them you care about their progress. Apprenticeships provide you with a ready-made, structured training course, where each module is expertly formulated to ensure your employee gains all the skills and knowledge they need.
Baltic’s Level 4 Apprenticeships act as the perfect progression route for those who have completed Level 3. They are also perfect for employees who have not completed an Apprenticeship but have industry experience and want to brush up on best practices. They provide the same remote training, 1-to-1 support, and expert coaching as Level 3, and employers will also receive regular support to ensure they maximise the value of the programme and get the best from their learners.
We currently offer Level 4 programmes in:
Are you ready to level up your employee’s skills? Contact us for more information
What other methods of Continued Professional Development are there?
There are many other professional development routeways available for your employees. Generally, these routeways can fit into either the Formal CPD or Informal CPD category.
Formal CPD: Active Learning
Formal methods of CPD are considered active learning. The employee is expected to engage in or, in some cases, attend (whether physically or online) some type of interactive learning. This learning is structured and usually follows a specific, industry-approved curriculum that then leads to a formal qualification or an acknowledgement of completion.
Formal professional development methods can include:
- Development Apprenticeships
- Short Courses
- Completing an accredited training course
- Completing an eLearning course
- Attending a relevant industry workshop, seminar, or conference
Formal CPD and active learning techniques are a great way to ensure your employee gains relevant, industry-approved knowledge. Our specialised Digital Short Courses allow your employee to gain tech and digital knowledge. They can develop new professional interests and specialities which will eventually help them climb the career ladder in the tech industry! By ensuring your employee is up to date with industry updates, trends, and best practices, you can be confident that they are providing your clients with the smoothest experience possible.
Informal CPD: Passive & Self-Directed Learning
Informal methods of CPD are recognised as self-directed learning. As suggested by the name, this learning is guided solely by the learner and is usually unstructured in terms of activities completed and resources used. This means the content studied can be tailored specifically to each employee and their role.
Informal professional development methods can include:
- Watching training videos & tutorials
- Watching non-interactive lectures
- Industry briefings & updates
- Reading books, articles & publications
- Listening to podcasts
Unlike accredited courses, informal CPD methods do not have a set structure or time frame to follow, so you and your employee have much more freedom on what to cover in this training, and when to complete it. This is a great opportunity to develop your employee personally as well as professionally! The Baltic Community provides current learners with educational events and useful resources created specifically to aid them on their journey. Alongside this, we have our Personal Development Resource Hub which is a public resource aiming to educate apprentices on employment-related issues but equally to provide them with relevant information on current affairs and wider important topics.
How do you create a Continued Professional Development plan?
When creating a professional development plan, it is common practice to first complete a skills audit with your employee to identify the gaps in their professional knowledge, skills, and further capabilities.
The audits are usually conducted through a self-assessment form, questionnaire, or an interview and are specific to your employee and company. This lets you collaborate with your employee to create a tailored development plan which focuses on areas you both think will be beneficial for them to build upon.
Related Reading: Digital Skills Audit: How to Complete a Skills Gap Analysis
Ongoing professional development plans should have set, reasonable and achievable goals that you and your employee can monitor. The best part of creating a professional development plan for your employee is that they give you both the ability to reflect on your employee’s growth, milestones, and overall professional career.
It is ideal to provide your employees with a mix of both formal and informal methods of CPD to ensure they receive the benefits of both active and self-directed learning. By adopting this mixed technique, you will help mould a well-rounded employee that is destined to succeed!