CPD Research Project
The CPD Standards Office is undertaking a sector-wide research project exploring the use, perception, and experience of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within professional training and adult learning.
This research will examine how professional organisations, employers and training providers are adopting AI in the design and delivery of learning, as well as how individual learners are experiencing and engaging with AI-enhanced training provision.
The study is exploring both organisational and learner perspectives, including motivations for using AI, perceived benefits, concerns around quality and trust, and the impact of AI on engagement, learning
experience, and professional development outcomes.
The findings will provide valuable insight into how AI is reshaping the CPD and professional learning landscape, helping to inform future best practice, guidance, and sector understanding.
OUR BIG QUESTIONS
AI Driven CPD Learning:
How are professional organisations, employers, and training providers
incorporating AI-driven CPD learning?
Individual Experiences:
What factors influence AI’s impact on individuals’ learning
experiences?
Perceptions & Attitudes:
What are current perceptions & attitudes towards AI technologies?
The Future:
What might the future hold for AI within CPD?
WHAT IS CPD?
CPD or ‘Continuing Professional Development’ is simply about ongoing learning to keep up to date at work. We define CPD as:
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A simple, structured approach to lifelong learning. CPD is an ongoing process of intentionally developing your knowledge, skills, and competence to be the best you can be at work and in your role.
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The Brilliance of CPD
Every day is a CPD day. Anyone and everyone undertake CPD daily, often without realising it. As humans, we are naturally inquisitive and seek to find solutions and answers to everyday challenges.
As CPD is an ongoing practice rather than a one-off activity, it operates through the complete personalisation of learning. We are in the driving seat when it comes to our ongoing professional education, and as a result, CPD is available to improve every skill and increase all career success.
True CPD Experts and Cutting Edge Research
Founded in 2012, The CPD Standards Office has spent over a decade researching and understanding the role of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) across a wide range of industries and disciplines within the UK business environment.
The CPD Standards Office was established following an academic university study exploring the field of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and adult skills development.
Conducted in partnership with Kingston Business School, over a two year period, the research was rooted in the field of industrial and occupational psychology.
The project undertook a trilogy of research streams, examining CPD from the perspectives of three key stakeholder groups: CPD learning providers, professional bodies, and individual professionals.
It also explored CPD policies and initiatives championed by professional institutes and regulators, identifying both the opportunities and the challenges surrounding how professionals undertake CPD and lifelong learning.
The findings generated a wide range of insights and helped professional bodies and employers better understand how to deliver meaningful and successful CPD learning experiences.
Among the most significant findings was that many professionals in the UK held an increasingly negative perception of CPD. Research participants cited several key reasons for this:
- The quality of training courses marketed as CPD was often poor and delivered an unsatisfactory educational experience.
- Many CPD learning activities were misrepresented and functioned more as sales presentations or commercially driven events.
- Existing CPD accreditation services typically approved providers at an organisational level, without adequately assessing the quality of individual courses or learning units.
As a result, one of the most striking conclusions from the research was that the quality of many training and learning activities undertaken for CPD purposes was exceptionally inconsistent and often ineffective in supporting genuine adult learning.
This highlighted the need for an independent accreditation standard capable of recognising high-quality CPD activities and ensuring relevance across all forms of professional development. That need ultimately led to the establishment of the CPD Standards Office.
From what began as a modest academic research project grew an independent CPD accreditation service built on scientific evidence and robust methodology. Its purpose was to verify training and learning providers as
formal CPD providers through the assessment of the quality and integrity of their learning portfolios.
Research Findings in Summary
- Most professionals already engage in CPD as part of their everyday work, whether through online research, informal team discussions, conferences, seminars, or workplace learning activities. However, many of these activities are not formally recognised as CPD.
- The majority of individuals undertake CPD because they believe it helps them perform their roles more effectively, while others see it as a valuable tool for career progression.
- Many professionals place such high value on CPD that they are willing to invest personally in their own development. For example, 65% of project managers involved in the study reported paying for CPD activities themselves.
- Individuals who engage more actively in CPD also tend to demonstrate stronger commitment to their work and are more likely to go the extra mile for colleagues and their organisation.
Some respondents have had very positive experiences of CPD – for example:
“The do-reflect-improve approach proved what I did know, highlighted weaknesses and filled the gap.”
“Learning outside the organisation allows time to reflect on what you are doing and your role.”
But there are also many negative experiences:
“All I hear about CPD is rather woolly.”
“It becomes a case of trying to justify a CPD activity in order to be able to tick a box and allocate hours.”
“CPD is not rigorous and tested to ensure good learning.”
"Many respondents described attending poor training courses."
CPD works best for individuals when it is:
Relevant
‘The best experiences are those that enable you to use CPD at work to immediately improve on performance.’
Collaborative
‘Presenting work to colleagues by engaging in positive conversations and lively debates on your findings.’
Recognised
‘Attending training that has been recognised for its quality and is fit for CPD purposes.’
Personal
‘CPD works best if it is led by the individual.’
Despite being a common requirement across many professions, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has received relatively limited attention from the academic community, with a notable lack of robust scientific evidence underpinning its practice.
This gap in research raises important questions about long-standing beliefs and assumptions relating to learning impact, effectiveness, individual competence, and professional standards across sectors.
At present, CPD often suffers from a reputation for inconsistent rigour and variable value. It remains overly
weighted toward technical skills, while softer skills are frequently underrepresented. In addition, CPD is still widely perceived as being synonymous with attending formal courses, rather than being recognised as a broader and more integrated approach to learning.
There are also weaknesses in the connections between the key stakeholders involved in CPD, including
professional bodies, institutes, employers, CPD providers, and individual professionals. These fragmented linkages can limit the overall effectiveness and coherence of CPD frameworks.
However, when CPD is delivered well, it has significant potential to enhance performance, drive innovation,
and improve the overall quality of working life.
View the 2023-2024 CPD Research
In 2023–2024, the CPD Research Project revisited and repeated key aspects of the original 2010 study, working once again with both individual professionals and professional organisations across a range of sectors. The aim was to assess how perceptions, behaviours, and the overall quality of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) had evolved over time within the modern UK working environment.
Key Findings
- 90% of respondents achieved career growth through CPD.
- Significant changes in CPD funding approach.
- Significant growth opportunities for training providers.
- Generational differences in CPD perceptions and plans to incorporate AI into career development.
- Recommended increase in CPD for training providers and their employees.
Taken together, these insights highlight both the continued importance of CPD and the evolving expectations placed upon it in a rapidly changing professional landscape.
Click here to find out more and download the whitepaper.