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Continuing professional development (CPD)

At the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), professionalism means more than qualifications. It involves a commitment to ongoing professional development, the need to display the right behaviours, attitudes and empathy, and to operate within an ethical framework. By committing to CPD, you are demonstrating professionalism that benefits both the housing sector and the communities you serve.

As a CIH member, professionalism is at the core of your commitment. Upon becoming a member, you  sing up not only to our robust code of conduct and ethics, but you also gain access to our professional standards and a wide range of resources designed to enhance your knowledge and skills.

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What is continuing professional development (CPD)?

CPD is an ongoing, purposeful and planned learning and development process that helps you further develop as a modern housing professional. At CIH we define CPD as a set of learning activities undertaken to maintain and enhance your competence and conduct meeting professional standards: the knowledge, skills and behaviours in your professional life to support your personal and professional growth for a positive societal impact.

Our commitment is to provide you with a dynamic offer of resources, tools and opportunities for you to manage your learning, embed CPD in your professional practice, keep up to date with the ever-changing, political, economic, social and technological landscape and invest in yourself.

The benefits of CPD
For you
  • Shape your career: map your own career path, set your own goals, and invest in yourself
  • Advance professionally: enhance your performance in your current role and prepare for future opportunities by addressing gaps in your skills, knowledge, and behaviours
  • Develop adaptive skills: improve your performance in your current role, prepare for your future career aspirations and foster your progression to stay competitive and relevant in the sector
  • Boost self-awareness: learn more about yourself by self-reflecting on your practice, your profession and identify areas for improvement
For your organisation
  • Contribute to professionalism: Your commitment to CPD builds credibility and trust within your organisation.
  • Improve customer confidence: Show customers that they’re supported by ethical, knowledgeable professionals.
  • Create impactful change: Undertake relevant and effective CPD activities that positively influence your workplace
For CIH and for the community
  • Strengthen CIH and the profession: you help advance CIH’s mission by upholding our values, ethical standards and professional growth, proudly displaying our professional designations as part of a community of members who continuously improve their skills, knowledge and behaviours
  • Build community impact: CPD empowers you to make a positive difference in the lives of residents and in your local community ensuring the public’s care as a priority

Getting started with your CPD journey

Your CPD journey starts by reflecting on where you are now, identifying areas for growth to help you develop your practice and plan your next steps.

  1. Self-assess: Begin by completing our self-assessment to receive a personalised report on your professional profile.
  2. Set development goals: Use the assessment to identify knowledge, skills, or behaviour gaps to address.
  3. Take action: With your goals in hand, engage in learning activities that support your ongoing professional journey.

 

The CPD learning cycle
Step one: Plan

Begin by setting a clear professional development goal for the year. Identify areas where you need to improve your knowledge, skills, or behaviours, and design your own tailored CPD plan.

The CIH exemplar career development framework helps you choose activities from CIH’s dynamic range of qualifications, training, professional standards, events, and membership upgrades.

Make sure your plan is SMART:

  • S - Specific (define your CPD type and activity)
  • M – Measurable (set criteria for achievement)
  • A – Achievable (consider your time and capacity)
  • R – Relevant (align with your role and career level)
  • T - Time-Bound (set clear deadlines)
Step two: Action

Engage in your chosen CPD activities and track your progress in your CIH profile. For each activity, record your reflections: What did you learn from this? How will you use this learning? Any further actions?

This reflective practice helps you deepen your learning and apply it to your work, supporting continuous improvement. As a reflective practitioner, you are provided with the opportunity to think about your learning and how it has helped you become a better professional, and apply it to your work supporting continuous improvement.

Step three: Reflection

At the end of the year, take time to reflect on your professional journey and progress. Assess whether you achieved your goals and review your overall development.

This reflection will allow you to adjust the next steps in of your professional journey and help you set a new yearly CPD goal for continued professional growth. Use this process to refine your approach and keep advancing in your career.

Recording your CPD

To record, plan and reflect on your CPD activities, you can log in to your my.CIH profile and record the information here.

Log in to your my.CIH profile

CIH exemplar career development framework

Discover how to progress in your career by aligning your development activities with your current role and future aspirations.

Our framework helps you identify key areas for growth and plan your professional journey effectively. You can explore the CIH exemplar career development framework below or download a PDF version of the framework here.

The framework
New to housing sector or new area of work within housing

Develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills

Develop and demonstrate behaviours

Maintain and develop sector knowledge, expertise and develop network

Progress in CIH membership grade

Increasing supervisory responsibility

Develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills

Develop and demonstrate behaviours

Maintain and develop sector knowledge, expertise and develop network

Progress in CIH membership grade

Increasing management responsibility

Develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills

Develop and demonstrate behaviours

Maintain and develop sector knowledge, expertise and develop network

Progress in CIH membership grade

Senior leadership role

Develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills

Develop and demonstrate behaviours

Maintain and develop sector knowledge, expertise and develop network

Progress in CIH membership grade

Highly experienced professional

Develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills

Develop and demonstrate behaviours

Maintain and develop sector knowledge, expertise and develop network

Progress in CIH membership grade

The professional standards
Built on seven core characteristics, these standards provide a framework for your professional growth and help you identify development needs.
Professional standards
The professional standards committee
The professional standards committee (PSC) is a delegated board within CIH’s governance structure.
The committee
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