Is CPD accreditation worth it?
As a training provider, business, or individual offering CPD training, events, or resources, you may wonder whether CPD accreditation is worth the investment.
To answer this question, you should balance the cost with the potential benefits. While obtaining CPD accreditation costs, it’s an investment that can result in increased credibility and heightened visibility. As well as boosting the reputation of your training service or materials, it can significantly increase demand for your services.
In this article, we will explain what CPD accreditation is and how obtaining it benefits training providers.
What is the CPD accreditation?
CPD stands for Continuing (or Continuous) Professional Development. Continuous professional development is a type of learning that individuals participate in to refresh or improve their knowledge and skills in the workplace.
There are many ways that individuals can take part in CPD, including enrolling on a course, attending a seminar or conference, watching training videos, or reading industry-relevant books or publications.
Individuals can ensure that the CPD courses and events they attend and resources they use are credible and meet minimum standards by looking for those that have been awarded CPD accreditation.
So, what is CPD accreditation and who awards it?
Independent CPD accreditation institutions, such as the CPD Certification Service, CPD Standards Office, and The CPD Group, can award CPD accreditation.
Accreditation is available for individual trainers, training courses, webinars, events and other training materials and resources. CPD accreditation is recognised globally.
Benefits of being accredited by CPD
CPD accreditation makes it easy for individuals and employers to identify high-quality CPD training providers. But how does accreditation benefit the training organisation? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of becoming CPD accredited.
Global recognition
The main benefit of obtaining CPD accreditation is the recognition that it provides. CPD accreditation gives your training a seal of approval for quality and credibility.
However, the training provider, course, event, or resource must first be thoroughly assessed to obtain accreditation. It must meet the rigorous CPD standards and benchmarks and any relevant industry standards. Achieving accreditation demonstrates the value and relevance of the learning activity.
Accreditation assures learners and their employers that investing in the learning activity will be valuable and recognised by professional bodies and employers, enhancing both their performance in their roles and future career prospects.
Increase credibility
Once CPD accredited, training providers can display the CPD logo on their website and marketing materials. This demonstrates the credibility of the organisation and its training services, events, or resources. CPD accreditation acts as a trust indicator, improving your organisation’s reputation in the eyes of professionals, employers, and within the industry.
Gain a competitive advantage
Obtaining CPD accreditation is also an effective way for organisations to distinguish themselves from their competitors. By displaying the CPD logo on its website, an organisation demonstrates the high quality of its services. This could give them a competitive advantage over competitors who cannot display this trust indicator.
Appear in the CPD Register
The CPD Register is a comprehensive directory of all CPD-accredited organisations, training providers, courses, and resources. Individuals and employers seeking high-quality CPD training opportunities can search the directory for accredited training providers. Once accredited, CPD activities are listed in this register; this benefits training providers as it increases their visibility among their target audience.
Increase demand
All the benefits listed above can help increase the popularity of the training activities or resources offered and potentially increase the training provider’s profitability.
What kind of support and advice is available from CPD
The support and advice offered varies from one accreditation body to the next. However, most offer support and advice designed to help training providers meet their accreditation standards and create high-quality training courses, events, and resources.
Some of the different support and advice services you can expect to receive from a CPD accreditation body include guidance on the accreditation process and how to apply for accreditation. During the accreditation process, once the accreditation body has assessed your training programs or materials, it will also usually provide comprehensive feedback, including suggestions on how to improve standards. It may also offer workshops, seminars, webinars, and online resources on how to meet CPD standards.
Accreditation bodies may also promote accredited organisations by listing them on an online register or showcasing them on social media or at industry events.
Is CPD accreditation worth it?
So, is CPD accreditation worth it?
The cost of getting CPD accreditation varies depending on the accreditation body being used and the type of accreditation required. When deciding whether it is worth getting accredited, organisations should weigh the cost of accreditation against the long-term gains it offers. These gains include credibility, visibility, and competitive advantage. Consider whether these advantages align with your business goals. If you aspire to widen the reach of your training course or activities, enhance your business’s reputation, or increase demand for your training services, then CPD accreditation could be a highly beneficial investment.
CBAT CPD accredited courses
We run various health and social care CPD training courses at Care Business Associate Training.
We invest in CPD accreditation to assure our customers that our training courses are of the highest standards and to demonstrate compliance with all relevant quality care standards.
You can browse our range of CPD-accredited health and social care training courses online or call our team on 01772 816 922 to learn more.