Why You Need to Know About CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

25/05/2018

In many industries, including building and construction, Continuing Professional Development (CDP) has become a key part of developing your career.

The workplace is constantly changing. Whether you’re an employee or an employer, it’s important to stay ahead of the game—otherwise you risk falling behind.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of Continuing Professional Development, why it’s important, and some of the building and construction courses you can take to keep your career on track.

Continuing Professional Development – the basics

What is CPD and why does it matter? In a nutshell, CPD is about gaining the extra skills, knowledge and experience needed to keep up with changes in the building and construction industry.

Thanks to advances in technology, changes in regulation and increasing specialisation, CPD has become compulsory in many industries. If you’re working in building and construction, this is the case in states such as NSW and Tasmania.

While it’s not mandatory in Victoria, CPD in construction is strongly recommended. Either way, it’s fast becoming the norm for many tradespeople wanting to get to the next level in their careers, and employers hoping to meet their business goals.

If you’re new to the idea of CPD, the best place to start is with your state-based or territory-based regulator, such as the Victorian Building Authority. CPD requirements differ depending on where you live, what kind of trade you’re in and what stage of your career you’re at.

From here, you’ll need to look into CPD courses with accredited providers, such as Builders Academy Australia. To make things easy, you can complete all of our CDP building courses online.

The benefits for workers

If you want to remain employable in this industry, undertaking CPD courses is a smart move. Here are a few of the main benefits:

  • Your professional qualifications and registrations remain intact
  • You can get a competitive edge over other jobseekers
  • It can help with career progression and advancement
  • Your credibility and confidence will be boosted
  • It can help you adapt to a constantly evolving workplace.

Traditionally, one professional qualification was all you needed to have a long and successful career. But these days, things are different. If you want to find success, you need to realise the importance of lifelong learning.

continuing professional development

The benefits for employers

When it comes to employers and businesses, CPD in construction offers a huge number of benefits. To break it down, it can:

  • Ensure standards across companies are consistently high
  • Help employers meet their business goals
  • Encourage greater employee engagement and productivity
  • Foster a supportive environment
  • Maximise staff potential
  • Boost staff retention and inspire commitment
  • Improve company culture.

Across the industry, CPD also has a number of benefits, from lowering defects and risk, to increasing consumer confidence, lowering insurance premiums and ensuring qualifications are kept current.

What CPD building and construction courses are there?

At Builders Academy Australia, we’re committed to providing you with top-notch CPD courses. We believe CPD is important to workers, employers and the industry, which is why we offer a number of courses online across a range of areas.

Our main areas include:

  • National Construction Code (NCC)
  • Health and Safety
  • Commercial
  • Legal
  • Company Administration
  • Technical

Whether you need to understand basic contract law, changes in the NCC, or how to run a small business, we’ve got a course for you. We’re here to make sure workers and employers are up to speed, and the industry constantly maintains and improves its standards.

Our building courses online are simple, user-friendly and affordable. This means you can make progress in your career without the burden of taking time off work or changing up your lifestyle.

Importantly, we see CPD as more than just a ‘box-ticking’ exercise. We see it as a smart and effective way to stay ahead of the game—and all our courses reflect this.

Need to know more?

Put simply, the benefits of Continuing Professional Development are numerous, and the initiative is becoming increasingly crucial for the construction industry. It helps to maintain workers’ skills and knowledge and takes their careers to new heights. For employers, it’s a way to simultaneously build their businesses and satisfy their employees.

In so many ways, CPD is a win-win. If you would like to know more about our CPD courses, how to enrol and the best bundles that will suit you or your employees, jump onto our website now.

If you have questions about Continuing Professional Development in general, how CPD in construction works, or about any of our other building courses online, get in touch today—we’ll be happy to walk you through the details.