Continuing Professional Development

It’s time to invest in your professional journey

Why you should commit to regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity

The benefits of committing to regular CPD are many both for yourself and for your employer. CPD helps to ensure that you have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a competitive employment market. It helps you to:

Build public confidence and creditability in your ability through having current knowledge and up to date skills.
Meet your career goals by addressing any gaps in your career development plan.
Have the potential to grow giving you greater career choices and earning potential.

Gary Howard, FCIPS ExDip Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional:

“I believe that it’s essential, no matter what level in the profession you attain, to keep challenging your skills sets and capability. CPD is a corner stone for developing leadership, technical and behavioural competencies.”

Wael Safwat FCIPS ExDip Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional

“I absolutely believe that we should view ourselves like any other profession. In accountancy it’s a given that you work towards Chartered status and it should be the same for procurement.”

Is CPD mandatory?

CPD is not mandatory for MCIPS or FCIPS members unless you wish to apply for and maintain Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional status.

However, current research (CIPS/Hays Salary Guide) emphasises the importance of being relevant in the profession.

We recognise that it is important for our members to be able to prove their relevancy. As a result of feedback from the profession, our CPD recommendation of 30 hours of new learning, supports our members in being able to evidence this, and can lead to Chartered professional status.

Can CPD help me to achieve Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional?

30 hours

For MCIPS/FCIPS members
Yes - by undertaking a minimum of 30 hours CPD in the previous 12 months and providing your Self-Declaration in your MyCIPS you have met one of the criteria for becoming Chartered. Other criteria include having an up to date CIPS Ethics Certificate and your CIPS MCIPS/FCIPS membership must be current. Login and check your renewal date.

For studying members
Yes - on successful completion of your programme and subject to meeting all of the requirements above anyone currently progressing any of the routes to MCIPS will be eligible for an upgrade to Chartered Procurement and Supply Professional status. If you have any queries please contact us at charter@cips.org and a member of our team will be able to assist.

What counts as CPD and how can your member benefits help?

It’s highly likely that many professionals are already participating in learning activities which contribute towards ongoing professional development without realising it. Almost everything that improves and updates knowledge and skills is considered CPD and anything you already do can be recognised by CIPS.

CIPS is committed to championing the benefits of CPD through providing a number of different channels such as, member events, knowledge resources, Supply Management publications, skills training and elearning and more.

What’s the minimum recordable time limit for a CPD activity?

CPD is recorded as a unit of your time, with 30 minutes of learning activity being the minimum amount that can be accepted as a recognisable unit of CPD. You can add together smaller units of one learning activity to make up a unit, e.g. reading Supply Management magazine for a few minutes per day over a week can soon add up to 30 minutes.

Do I need to use the CIPS online CPD tool to record CPD?

No, you can record your learning in any way that suits you as long as it is provides the following information and is in a format suitable for an external audit by CIPS.

Your CPD record should include:

Date	01/09/18
Activity	Presentation from an organisation on sustainable procurement
Number of hours	3
Learning statement	Information on their supplier audit useful as a template for ours
Evidence	Meeting minutes

How to record your CPD
Download CIPS CPD Guidance

Will my CPD record be audited by CIPS?

If you have self-declared your CPD hours to apply for or maintain your Chartered professional status, then your CPD record may be randomly selected for audit by CIPS.

View CIPS CPD Audit Policy

If I have a career break do I continue my CPD?

If you have a career break for parental leave, physical or mental ill-health, or redundancy you may have a break in your CPD activity. However, you may choose to use CPD activities to keep you in touch with your profession and even support your re-entry into work. In the CIPS Guide to CPD Appendix 1 there is a list which indicates the wide range of CPD activities available. This includes attending branch events, getting yourself up-to-speed through reading professional journals and web- based resources, e-learning and including return-to work inductions as part of your CPD.

If your CPD record is selected for auditing purposes, you will be asked to provide evidence confirming your break in work. If you have concerns about how to record your CPD during this time contact CIPS Professional Licensing team at charter@cips.org or refer to the CIPS Chartered Status Policy on Career breaks. For further details on CIPS CPD career break policy.