Continuing Professional Development

One of the key aspects of working today is that employers expect staff to continue their professional development (CPD) and gain professional status (such as chartership or accreditation). I have chartership C.Math with IMA (www.ima.org.uk) and I am accredited with the Operational Research Society (www.theorsociety.com). I thought I would use this Blog entry to discuss what I think CPD and professional status is and how I go about my CPD, this may aid you in understanding what professional development is and why it is necessary.

As part of the IMA, I get asked a lot of questions regarding professional awards and CPD that include:

• What is Chartership or Accreditation and why should I try to get it?
Professional status such as Chartership or Accreditation is recognition from your peer community that you have achieved a certain level of professional capability. The level of capability not only depends on your ability to use your chosen subject area, but also your ability to conduct yourself in a professional way with, colleagues, peers, employers, and customers. Professional qualifications allow your employers (or potential employers) to see that an external body has judged you to have certain appropriate skills appropriate to your development, your employers can then use this knowledge to make assessments of you and show to its customers that it employs professional people.

• What is CPD and why should I do it?
CPD is usually split (at least with the IMA) into Initial Professional Development and CPD.

Initial professional development defined by the IMA as: ‘a pattern of learning undertaken by a graduate mathematician to develop the range of skills and competencies needed to achieve professional status’, so this is CPD up to the point of achieving professional status.

The Continuing Professional institute (http://www.cpdinstitute.org/) defines CPD as: ‘Continuing professional development is the systematic maintenance and improvement of knowledge, skills and competence, and the enhancement of learning, undertaken by an individual throughout his or her working life’ The IMA discusses what they expect (http://www.ima.org.uk/Professional/cpd.htm) to be done to achieve CPD in the context of mathematics.

CPD is important to employers because customers are becoming more knowledgeable and demanding. The knowledge base of professions has also increased. This has led to, new markets, new areas of practice and new methods of working opening up. These changes require the development of knowledge and skills, to show increasing commitment to your career and show your employers and customers that you have the capability and flexibility to be a continued asset to them.

My CPD involves my work as a senior analyst, the courses I attend through my career and my activities with my professional societies.

Through my work. This may seem obvious but through my work (which involves solving problems though not always mathematical problems and the development of models), I learn and I develop. This not only involves mathematical learning but also development of professional skills and knowledge, for instance in the last year I have learnt about:
• Requirements Capture
• Psychology (as part of a literature review)
• Financing
• Improvement processes (to aid the development of the operational analysis group in the company I work for)

Courses. Each year I attend a number of courses to maintain and extend my professional development, which allows me to maintain and develop my skills in Mathematics, Communications and leadership. In 2009 this included:
• Linear Statistical Modelling (this is my current course with the open university which allows me to maintain and develop my mathematical skills)
• Report writing course (which helped me to maintain and develop my report writing skills
• Communications workshop

Involvement in the mathematics and operational research communities. As a member of the IMA and the OR Society I undertake a number of activities to maintain my professional network, promote the subjects I work in to potential customers, and be seen as a presence in my chosen field. In 2009 this has included:
• Hosting the 10th Younger Mathematicians Conference (http://www.ima.org.uk/mathematics/mt_10thyoungermathematicians_conference_report.html), which allowed me to practice my communication skills to a large audience
• Organising the Young OR conference 2009 (http://www.theorsociety.com/orshop/(ontdrl45zvfv22450s0hi055)/orcontent.aspx?inc=yor16_main.htm) as program chair which involved communicating with a number of OR academics and practitioners.
• Presentation on Odds ratios at the Young OR conference 2009. This allowed me to show my presentation skills and show my knowledge

Please note that are all of the above are my own personal opinions and not necessarily the opinion of the’ Institute of Mathematics and its Applications’ or any other organisation I may have mentioned.