Professional Development Plan

Professional development is essential to your success within your current role and for your employability in the future.

Writing a Professional Development Plan (PDP) is essential to getting the most out of your professional development and being able to achieve your targets and goals. Your career is your responsibility and how successful your career is will be up to you. However, you can do a great deal to enhance your knowledge and professional skills by understanding why you want to enhance your knowledge and skills and to take the time to reflect on your previous successes and why they provide the foundation for future professional development.

Below is a plan of a list of things to consider to help you make the first steps towards beginning your professional development. It is important to be positive when writing your PDP to get the most from it:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Write down your name and some information surrounding the qualifications you currently have and your job role. This will serve as the foundation for your plan.

YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

For some, identifying their strengths and weaknesses is a straightforward task. For others, it is harder to pinpoint aspects of your character or professional skills that can be developed or improved. It can be difficult to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. If you are struggling, try talking to family members or friends about how they see you and from there, you might gain some perspective.
Try choosing a couple of key traits or abilities to work on to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

REASON FOR CHANGE

Once you have identified where you would like the plan to focus, for each highlighted area, write down in detail a number of ambitious but realisitc goals that will lead you towards your final objective.
Ask yourself why you want to move in a new direction, if this is the case or consider the threats to your advancement and consider in what ways will it improve your future career prospects and how this will help you progress along your career path.

LEARNING SCHEDULE

What qualifications or extra learning do you need to undertake to reach both your short term and long term goals and where can you obtain the training required? You must have the answer to both these questions in order to continue your professional development. Make sure you look at a number of options that are available to you.

TIMETABLE

Finally, set out a timescale for your PDP. Make sure you have a date in mind to give yourself something to aim for and ensure you take the time to review your progress along the way.