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PRESS INFORMATION ISSUED ON BEHALF OF:
Echelon Publishing
Darwin House, 236 South Ealing Road, LONDON W5 4RP
tel 020 8568 1500; fax 020 8560 6612; web http://learningmatters.com

London, UK: 2nd September 2008

Survey reports continued growth in CPD importance

Latest research reveals sustained growth in the use of continuous professional development (CPD) by UK professional bodies.

The third annual CPD survey by e-publisher Echelon Publishing focused on the current provision of CPD by professional bodies, their future needs, and whether and how they will want to publish, distribute and track CPD in the future.

The survey found that:

• CPD is mandatory for some 50% of responding institutions. This represents only a marginal increase on the figure from Echelon’s 2006 CPD survey but is still a significantly high figure among the UK’s professional bodies.

• The emphasis of CPD is spreading from professional and technical learning to business and personal 'soft' skills.

• There is a shift in emphasis from input - that is, the number of hours spent on the learning - to output, in other words, what the relevance of the CPD is to the learner’s job. Thus there is a shift in CPD emphasis from professional effectiveness to personal effectiveness.

• This makes it more difficult to monitor and evaluate ‘CPD’ (because the process is moving from monitoring hours spent on CPD to outcomes spread across a whole range of disciplines).

• Although nearly every organisation surveyed offered users the ability to log their CPD activities online, there has not been a significant move to providing online interactive learning applications during the process. This shows little change from the results of Echelon’s 2004 and 2006 surveys.

Commenting on the survey findings, Echelon’s Chairman, David Hill, said, "This year’s survey reflects - and reinforces - the importance attached by professional bodies to maintaining the professional standards of their members.

"It is unlikely to be long before customers demand that professional advice is given only by those who have kept their knowledge and skills up to date."

Echelon manages the development and integration of student and members’ learning on behalf of organisations including the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The Echelon CPD Survey is part of a series of learning surveys conducted by the company.

For copies of the 2008 CPD Survey, email davidhill@echelonl.com

Ends

Media contact: Peter Muir Tel + 44 (0)1296 715228; Email: echelon@pmpr.co.uk

Sales contact: David Hill Tel + 44 (0)20 8568 1500; Email: david@echelonl.com

About Echelon Publishing

Echelon technologies help organisations place solutions at people's fingertips, whether solving everyday business and work-related problems or helping gain qualifications and continued professional development.

Echelon:

• Has a content management system enabling informational or learning material to be developed or converted into XML so that it can be published and distributed in text and/or via the web.

• Has a learning management system to provide ready access via the web to highly structured information, which is easily searched and retrieved, and whose usage can be tracked and learning logged.

• Publishes and/or reformats content for professional bodies and commercial organisations to help students and employees maintain or develop requisite skills throughout their careers.

• Supports people from the outset of their careers in working with professional bodies to develop and deliver the learning content required by students in preparing for examination.

• Frees up the knowledge and learning contained within a business so that people have ready access to these resources in helping them to solve problems or develop their careers.

• Works with a number of blue chip organisations and professional bodies, including:

COMMERCIAL

BUPA
Coventry Building Society
Lincoln Financial
Moat House Hotels
Modernisation Agency (NHS)
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
NHS Logistics
Vodafone

INSTITUTIONAL

Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development
Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants
Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply
Construction Industry Training Board
Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators
Institute of Chartered Accountants in E & W
Institute of Civil Engineers
Royal Town Planning Institute