What Is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Why Is It Important Across Tech and Project Management Sectors?
Learn what Continuing Professional Development (CPD) means, why it matters in tech and project management, and how ongoing professional development helps you stay employable and progress long term.
Most professionals I speak to already know that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) matters. It comes up in appraisals, job specs, and LinkedIn profiles all the time. But when I ask what CPD actually is, or how it fits into their career long term, there’s often a pause. A lot of people assume it’s just another requirement, or something you worry about once a year.
That’s not how we see it. CPD works best when it’s treated as a career habit, not a box to tick. Especially in tech and project management, where tools, frameworks, and expectations change faster than most job titles do. What kept you effective three years ago might not be enough today.
I’ve put this guide together to explain what CPD really means, why it’s become so important in these sectors, and how people use it in practice.
We’ll look at different forms CPD can take, from formal qualifications to ongoing learning, and how to choose the right professional training and certification routes for where you want your career to go next.
Written by
As our Head of Curriculum, Product and Partnerships, Mark is passionate about making Learning People the best-in-class for delivering job-ready education and changing lives for people who want careers in IT, Coding, and Project Management.
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Jump to:
- What Is CPD? A Clear, Practical Definition
- Why CPD Matters More Than Ever in Today’s Job Market
- Is CPD Mandatory? Where It’s Required and Where It’s Expected
- What Counts as CPD?
- CPD in Project Management: Staying Qualified and Moving Up
- CPD in Tech and Cyber Security
- Choosing the Right CPD Route for Your Career Goals
- CPD at Learning People: From First Step to Senior Progression
- Final Thoughts: CPD Isn’t Extra Work – It’s Career Insurance
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) FAQs
What Is CPD? A Clear, Practical Definition
CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. In simple terms, it’s the ongoing process of learning, updating your skills, and building knowledge throughout your career, not just at the start, and not just when you need a new job.
CPD training can take a lot of forms in practice, such as:
- completing a recognised course or certification
- re-taking exams for credentials that have expired
- participating in structured training at work
- attending industry events
- learning new tools that are becoming standard in a role
What matters is that the learning is relevant, intentional, and helps you perform better or develop in your job.
The key difference between “learning once” and CPD is continuity. Studying for a qualification gets you into a role. Continuing professional development helps you stay effective, credible, and employable once you’re there. It’s the difference between keeping up and slowly falling behind without realising it.
CPD applies at every stage of a career.
- Entry-level professionals use it to build confidence.
- Mid-level specialists use it to progress.
- Senior professionals use it to stay current and lead well.
In some industries, learning is tracked formally (e.g. fundamental qualifications will expire after a few years), but at its heart, CPD is about staying capable in a world that doesn’t stand still.
Fact: Nearly Half of UK Employers Provide No Regular Training
Recent UK research shows that around 48% of organisations did not provide any job-related training to employees in the past year.
For professionals, this highlights why CPD can’t always be left to employers alone. When structured learning isn’t built into the workplace, individuals who take ownership of their development are far better placed to stay current, credible, and competitive over time.
Why CPD Matters More Than Ever in Today’s Job Market
One of the biggest shifts I’ve seen over the last few years is how quickly roles change without the job title ever moving.
Someone can still be called a Project Manager or IT Analyst, but the tools they use, the risks they manage, and the expectations placed on them can look very different from even two or three years ago.
Your most valuable certifications and skills do have an expiry date...
In tech and project management especially, skills have a shorter shelf life than they used to.
New platforms appear, frameworks get updated, and automation reshapes where human judgement is most valuable. Research shows that many of the skills used in today’s jobs won’t stay the same, and we’re already seeing that play out in hiring conversations.
This is where CPD really earns its place. It’s not just about being employable right now, but staying employable over time. That longer view matters more than ever. Employers aren’t only asking “can you do the job today?” They’re asking whether you’ll still be effective as the role evolves.
The good news is that CPD doesn’t mean constant pressure or endless studying. It’s about steady, deliberate progress. Small, regular updates to your skills add up, and they’re far less stressful than trying to catch up all at once.
Is CPD Mandatory? Where It’s Required and Where It’s Expected
Whether CPD is mandatory depends on your role, your sector, and sometimes the body that oversees your profession. In some cases, continuing development is a formal requirement. In others, it’s not written into regulations but is still very much expected.
There’s an important distinction here.
- Some professions have legally or professionally required CPD. Healthcare and accountancy are good examples, where practitioners must keep their knowledge up to date to remain licensed or accredited.
- Then there’s employer-expected CPD. This is common in tech and project environments. Your role might not legally demand ongoing development, but employers still expect you to stay current. They assume that someone working in cyber, IT, or delivery understands the latest tools, standards, and risks, even if no regulator is checking your learning log.
In both cases, CPD acts as a credibility signal. It shows that you take your profession seriously, that you’re investing in your skills, and that you’re not relying on knowledge that’s quietly gone out of date.
What Counts as CPD?
One of the most common questions I get is what actually counts as CPD. People often assume it has to mean long courses or formal study, but in reality, CPD is much broader and more flexible than that.
At its core, CPD is any structured learning that helps you do your job better. That can include:
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Formal qualifications and certifications, such as industry-recognised exams that validate your knowledge and experience.
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Short courses and specialist training, focused on specific tools, frameworks, or emerging areas relevant to your role.
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Webinars, seminars, and conferences, where you stay informed about changes in standards, technology, or best practice.
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Self-directed learning with outcomes, like guided study, labs, or practical projects, as long as it clearly develops your skills rather than just consuming information.
If you look at how professional bodies define CPD, the emphasis is rarely on the format. It’s on purposeful development that keeps your knowledge current and your practice effective. That principle matters more than ticking off activities.
Quality always beats quantity here. Ten hours of unfocused learning won’t help if it doesn’t apply to your role. Well-chosen CPD, even in small amounts, should translate into better decisions, stronger delivery, and more confidence at work. That’s the real test of whether it counts.
Fact: Learning and Development Strongly Influences Employee Retention
Studies show that almost 70% of UK employees say they’re more likely to stay with an employer that actively invests in training and development.
CPD isn’t just about skills, it plays a clear role in job satisfaction and career longevity. For professionals, ongoing development signals ambition and engagement. For employers, it’s a practical way to retain experienced talent in competitive sectors.
CPD in Project Management: Staying Qualified and Moving Up
In project management, CPD plays a big role in moving from being competent in the role to being trusted with more complex, higher-stakes work.
Imagine this scenario: a skilled, qualified Project Manager has been working in a project role for a few years. They’re delivering projects well, but they’re starting to feel that progression has slowed.
At that stage, CPD isn’t about learning the basics again. It’s about deepening capability. Senior roles demand more than understanding the fundamental project frameworks. They require:
- strong leadership
- risk management
- stakeholder influence
- the ability to manage uncertainty at scale
That’s why many experienced professionals look towards senior-level project management courses and qualifications like PMP as part of their development. These aren’t entry-level exams. They’re designed to reflect real-world experience, not just theoretical study.
Another factor people sometimes overlook is renewal. Many well-known project management certifications don’t last indefinitely. They require ongoing learning or reassessment to remain valid. That’s intentional. It keeps the profession current and protects the credibility of the qualification itself.
From an employer’s point of view, CPD shows commitment. It signals that you’re not standing still and that your approach to delivery is aligned with current standards. For those aiming to step into senior Project Manager or programme-level roles, that signal matters more than ever.
CPD in Tech and Cyber Security
CPD carries a lot of weight in tech roles because the environment changes constantly.
In IT, cyber security, and data analytics, standing still isn’t neutral. It usually means falling behind. New technologies, threats, regulations, and ways of working appear all the time, and professionals are expected to adapt quickly.
Cyber security is a clear example. Attack methods evolve, tools improve, and standards tighten. That’s one reason the UK Cyber Security Council is working to bring more structure and professionalism to the sector through recognised skills frameworks and expectations around ongoing development. We’re proud to be involved in that work, which we’ve written about in more detail in our post on Learning People joining the UK Cyber Security Council.
Security-focused cyber roles can feel like they change by the day
In security-focused roles especially, CPD isn’t just about personal progression. It’s about trust.
Employers, clients, and regulators need confidence that the people protecting systems and data understand current risks and best practice. Outdated knowledge can have real consequences.
That’s why many professionals move towards more advanced cyber security courses that build on real-world experience, rather than stopping after an entry-level qualification. These pathways recognise that competence grows over time and needs to be maintained.
Across tech, CPD signals reliability. It shows that you take responsibility for your skills, that you understand the pace of change, and that you can be trusted to operate in environments where accuracy and judgement really matter.
Choosing the Right CPD Route for Your Career Goals
One of the biggest mistakes I see with CPD is people learning without a clear purpose. It’s easy to sign up for interesting courses or webinars, but without direction, that effort doesn’t always translate into career progress.
The most effective CPD starts with a simple question:
"What am I trying to move towards in my career?"
- For some, that’s closing gaps in their current role, such as improving risk management, technical depth, or leadership skills.
- For others, it’s preparing for a promotion, where expectations shift and you’re judged on influence and decision-making, not just delivery.
CPD is also a powerful tool when you’re changing direction. I regularly speak to people moving from IT into cyber security, or from project delivery into more senior Project Manager roles. In those cases, targeted learning helps you bridge the gap without starting from scratch.
It also helps to understand how CPD is often structured and tracked, particularly in professions where learning needs to be evidenced over time. That structure can guide your choices and keep your development focused.
The key is intention. When your CPD aligns with your goals, every course or qualification has a clear role to play. That’s when learning stops feeling random and starts supporting real career momentum.
CPD at Learning People: From First Step to Senior Progression
At Learning People, we see CPD as something that runs through an entire career, not just the first step into a new role.
Many people come to us to get qualified and break into tech or project management. Just as many stay with us as they progress, update certifications, or prepare for more senior positions.
I like to think of our role as a long-term CPD partner. We support people at different stages, whether that’s building foundations, moving into specialist areas, or advancing into leadership. Alongside training, we focus on career guidance and progression pathways, so learning always connects back to real opportunities and next steps.
An important takeaway...
As you step into your new roles in tech and project management, continuing your professional development isn’t just valuable; it’s essential.
The sectors you’re entering evolve quickly, and staying up to date through regular CPD ensures that your knowledge, skills, and practices remain current, competitive, and compliant with industry standards.
Committing to ongoing learning not only strengthens your expertise but also demonstrates professionalism and adaptability, both qualities highly valued by employers. Your journey doesn’t end with certification; it grows with every new skill you develop.
Keep investing in yourself! Your future career will thank you for it.
Final Thoughts: CPD Isn’t Extra Work – It’s Career Insurance
When you step back, CPD isn’t about doing more work for the sake of it. It’s about protecting your future. Ongoing development builds confidence in your own ability to handle change. It gives you options when roles shift, organisations restructure, or new opportunities appear. Most importantly, it supports long-term employability, not just your next job move.
I always encourage people to think in years, not months. A steady approach to learning pays off over time and reduces the stress of sudden skills gaps later on. CPD is less about reacting and more about staying ready.
If you’re unsure what your next step should be, a conversation can help. We offer a free consultation with one of our career experts to talk through your goals, your experience, and the CPD routes that make sense for where you want to go next.
