| The means by which professionals maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills and develop the personal qualities required for the execution of professional and technical duties throughout the working life. It is a lifelong learning approach to planning, managing and benefiting from own development. Professional development helps to:
- Maintain and enhance the employee competence in the workplace
- Ensure the employee is competitive in the job market
- Demonstrate commitment to personal development
- Have a useful intellectual challenge
Some routes to professional development are:
- Attending meetings, conferences and seminars
- Training workshops and knowledge sharing
- Distance and open learning programmes
- Reading books, journals and publications in various fields
- Involvement in community activities such as mentoring, communities of practice
When a learning organization aims to strengthening weaker skill sets and knowledge areas, the starting point is to implementing a professional development plan, providing practitioners with the training, knowledge, and networking opportunities they need to advance in their career development. [1] See also: Learning Organizations, Adult Learning, Continuing Education, Workplace Learning, Andragogy, Distance Learning, E-Learning. |
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT