What sort of things count?
Again, this will depend upon your job and your personal ambitions,
but in simple terms the answer is “anything that adds to your personal store of relevant skills, knowledge and experience.”
Members are employed in a broad range of jobs and at various levels of responsibility
and it is recognised that this will be reflected in their continuing learning needs which will be equally varied.
Therefore, there are no limitations to the range of subjects that can be included,
although it is recommended that, in order to develop your expertise on a broad front, you may need to undertake CPD in the following areas:
a) Developing your technical knowledge and skills in your current field.
b) Broadening your technical knowledge and skills into fields parallel to your own,
thus enabling you to move into another job should the need or opportunity arise.
c) Acquisition of non-technical knowledge and skills, e.g. management techniques,
communication and presentational skills, legal issues, finance, languages, health & safety,
thus preparing you to assume wider or greater responsibilities
The Computer Society of Zimbabwe has been given permission to use the CPD scheme devised by the British Computer Society,
for which the BCS is thanked.
How do I go about it?
Professional development may be achieved in any of the following ways, depending on your circumstances, learning style and the opportunities open to you.
a) At home - private study such as distance learning; special projects or structured study which may involve reading,
watching TV and video tapes and/or listening to radio programmes and audio tapes; writing papers for presentation or publication.
b) At work - where, simply by day-to-day activities, relevant knowledge and skills are acquired by on-the-job learning and/or company provision.
c) At events - such as presentations, lectures, seminars, conferences and also formal courses of study, whether or not they lead to an examination.
The activities that count are all those that you consider relevant to your learning needs
Why should I keep records?
It is strongly recommended that you maintain a personal portfolio. This will assist you in a number of key aspects related to your career.
a) You will be able to provide documented evidence of your commitment to your chosen profession and of your continued competence.
b) It will act as an excellent reference, both in the up-dating of your curriculum vitae and in recalling details of topics you have studied.
c) It will be a most useful aid in your career development, providing a means by which you can plan, record and review your relevant activities.
How should I keep my records?
There are a number of ways in which this may be done but it can be as simple as an A4 ring binder containing
a) your Development Plan - based on your identified needs;
b) certificates showing the competencies or qualifications you have gained;
c) examples of work which demonstrate your competence;
d) description of projects/courses etc. you have undertaken and your resultant development;
e) other relevant CPD documentation.
A CPD record card is provided by the Society. This will enable you to maintain, by a series of brief entries,
a simple record of your development objectives and learning activities for each year.