IOSH health and safety CPD (continuing professional development) explained

Continuing professional development (CPD) is now required by all major professions and is not about penalising practitioners by making them come back again and again for training in order to generate revenue. Hazel Harvey explains the IOSH scheme and how easy the process can be.

Nobody would use either a medical or legal professional who hadn’t kept themselves up to date with the latest practices and knowledge in their field, so why should it be any different for safety and health practitioners? Part of any professional person’s working life is developing their knowledge, skills and experience. In reality, if you don’t, you won’t be able to perform to the standards expected of you. Like many other professional fields, health and safety is fast-changing, and new knowledge and processes need to be developed and shared by its practitioners.

Nevertheless, a degree of suspicion and sufferance exist when it comes to continuing professional development (CPD), so let’s start by addressing some of the most common objections to it:

• CPD takes up too much time: activities that lead to CPD may be time-consuming but it is the outcome of the activity that is actually the CPD. Recording this outcome, if done on a regular basis, takes no time at all.
• CPD requires attendance at courses: while there is no doubt that attending a course can kick-start the development of knowledge or skills in a particular area, it is only one method of doing so. Most CPD can be obtained through the type of workplace activities that occur on a regular basis — for instance, researching a topic in order to be able to provide advice is definitely a CPD activity and should be recognised as such.
• I don’t need to do any CPD as my experience to date has made me competent: this implies that no legislation is ever revised, no new processes developed, no knowledge shared between professionals, no new projects, equipment, etc. are introduced. Obviously, this is not the case!
• CPD costs a lot of money: it can cost you as much or as little as you want it to, depending on your circumstances. Many organisations offer funding for employees to maintain and develop their competence, but not everyone is so fortunate. The reality is that CPD actually costs you nothing — it is the development of knowledge, skills and experience, and the recognition of this development, that constitutes the CPD, not the type of activity that leads to it.
• CPD is not valued by employers: most organisations who employ a professional expect them to be competent, and even though some employers won’t actually help you obtain CPD they will nevertheless expect you to be up to date!
• CPD is too hard to record: it can be a really simple process and there are plenty of people who can provide help if you need it — see below.
• I’m retired so I don’t need CPD: even if you are working on a voluntary basis you still need to be up to date, as any advice you provide needs to be current and effective. IOSH members who are not doing any work can transfer to Retired status.
• I’m not based in the UK and can’t get to courses: see above — you can do CPD wherever you are.
• I am on maternity leave/suffer from ill health/have circumstances that prevent me from doing CPD: under the IOSH scheme you can take time off when you need it, and you can record your circumstances in your own private record.

On the plus side

That’s the ‘ifs and buts’ out of the way. On the positive side, here are just some of the reasons why CPD benefits you, your employer, your clients, and the public:

• CPD is a requirement of the Privy Council for a profession to be recognised as chartered — the accolade of a true profession.
• CPD demonstrates that you keep up to date with health and safety developments and, if you choose your activities correctly, it can usefully broaden your health and safety knowledge.
• CPD encourages you to reflect on your health and safety practice and thus helps you recognise areas of practice that need updating or upskilling.
• CPD encourages you to network with other like-minded professionals and learn from each other.
• CPD assures your employer that they are getting current and relevant advice.
• CPD shows prospective employers or clients that you are a committed professional.
• CPD recognises that skills beyond the normal ‘core’ safety activities are needed to promote and develop safe and healthy workplaces.
• CPD changes to reflect your requirements as you develop your own knowledge, skills and experience.
• A commitment to CPD by the whole profession shows that its members are the best you can get.

Recording CPD activities

One of the main concerns that IOSH members have about CPD is the way in which it needs recording. The current scheme of administration is available via the MyIOSH portal (see below), and all members have access to their own online secure recording system. This allows members to record their CPD in their own individual way to suit their personal circumstances.

The main advantage is that there is no need to gather, or submit mountains of paperwork when called for audit. Those who do not have Internet access can keep paper records and submit them on a quarterly basis for entry by IOSH staff. However, it is easier to do it yourself, so why not use a public library, or ask a member at your branch to assist?

How does it work?

To get started, you need to register on the IOSH portal, MyIOSH. This can be reached either from the main IOSH website www.iosh.co.uk or directly via http://my.iosh.co.uk This will be your own password-protected secure space on the IOSH membership server.

Once registered, you can enter the CPD recording area of the portal using MyCPD. (The portal also includes an area where you can pay your subscription; eventually, you will also be able to book courses and events, and access other membership benefits.)

Ideally, you should start by entering a development plan. This can be a basic programme of activity, or just a simple commitment to CPD. It does require some reflection on what you think you need to do to both maintain and develop your professional knowledge and skills.

The next stage is to start adding activities to the records. Here, the scheme is divided into three sections:

Section B: maintaining competence in health and safety;

Section C: developing competence in health and safety; and

Section D: developing competence in professional skills that help you practise successfully as a health and safety advisor, or within your health and safety role.

You can record your activity through any of these sections, or section A — they all function in the same way. If you want to change the section to which you have assigned your activity this can be easily done when you start to allocate credits.

Entering an activity requires a statement as to why you believe it contributes to maintenance, or development of your health and safety knowledge and skills. Again, this can be a relatively simple statement, such as: “Reading this article on working at height has given me some ideas about what I need to do to revise our company’s policy on this issue. In light of this, and the reference to the HSE’s website contained in the article, I will be amending our policy.”

Alternatively, you may want to reflect on how and why you are going to amend the policy, and reference this more formally. The choice is yours; you can use the scheme to the extent to which you feel comfortable. Again, talking to colleagues, or other IOSH members, will help you develop this reflective approach, but bear in mind that what you consider CPD may not be for others, or vice-versa. CPD is individual!

The scheme requires you to allocate ‘credits’ for your CPD activities, with the precise number allocated based on the perceived amount of CPD gained from the activity. Two points for a day’s activity is a benchmark but this can vary, depending on the outcome of the activity (but the maximum is three).

Longer activities need to be broken down into smaller sections, and points allocated accordingly. Remember: it is the outcome of the activities that determine the number of credits given, not the activities themselves. So, for someone undertaking a longer programme of work, or study course, such as a master’s degree, several outcomes will be recognised and will need to be individually recorded.

Not everyone will allocate credits at the same rate but individual members are expected to be consistent in their own allocations. This will be taken into consideration should a member’s CPD record be the subject of a random audit by the CPD Sub-Committee, which has been set up to oversee the process.

Conclusion

The CPD process allows practitioners to reflect on the knowledge and skills they need to be able to undertake their work in a competent and ethical manner. It is a straightforward, relevant process, which can be easily incorporated into your every-day professional activities.

http://my.iosh.co.uk