12 Continuing personal and professional development

Individual workers can use National Occupational Standards to manage their own personal and professional development.

Steps to take:

Step 1 Identify relevant standards
Identify the units of National Occupational Standards relevant to your work, both currently and in the next 6-12 months.

You will find most of these in your role profile (see Section D), if you have one. However, you may be taking on new responsibilities over the coming year that will require you to develop your knowledge, skills and competence in new areas. It is important to identify the standards relevant to these new areas in order to be fully prepared for taking on your new responsibilities.

Step 2 Identify your strengths and development needs
Look at each unit in turn and consider how confident you are about your performance in this unit. Do you consistently meet the statements of effective performance? Do you possess all the knowledge, understanding and skills or are there areas you need to develop? Or are particular tasks a challenge?

Decide whether you are exceptional, competent, or not yet competent about your performance level.

Step 3 Evaluate the potential impact
Look at all the units where you are not fully confident about your performance. Ask yourself the following question: If I improved in this area, would it have any significant impact on my overall performance in the job and the outcomes of my work?

If the answer is no, you should not worry too much about it for the time being. If the answer is yes, then it is likely to be a priority area for your development.

Step 4 Decide on your priorities
Prioritise those areas in which you are least confident about your performance and where an improvement would have a significant impact on your work.

Look again at the statements of effective performance, skills, knowledge and understanding required for these units. Think carefully about why you are not confident. It could be because of one of the following:

  • You do not have the necessary knowledge and information
  • You need to learn specific techniques or develop your skills
  • You have all the knowledge and skills, but you need the opportunity to practice, perhaps under supervision, until you consistently meet the standards

Step 5 Seek and seize appropriate opportunities to learn
If you decide that you need to develop your knowledge, understanding or skills, identify and seize suitable learning opportunities such as courses, learning materials, working with people more expert than yourself, coaching from your supervisor etc.

You will find a more extensive list of the different learning opportunities that may be available in step-by-step guide 7 in this Section. Make sure that you choose learning opportunities that fit well with your preferred learning style.

Step 6 Apply your new knowledge and skills
Seize opportunities to apply your newly-developed knowledge and skills in your work.

When you are undertaking the activity described in a particular unit, use the statements of effective performance to help you plan your work and check you are working to good practice.

Step 7 Re-evaluate your performance
When you have developed new knowledge and skills and had the opportunity to apply these in your work, use the standards to re-assess your performance.

  • Do you consistently meet the statements of effective performance? If not, what do you need to do differently?
  • Do you have all the knowledge and understanding required? If not, what do you still need to learn?
  • Do you have all the necessary skills? If not, how can you hone your skills further?

It is often helpful to carry out this reassessment together with your supervisor or a colleague who can provide you with feedback on your performance.

Checklist

  • Do you continuously and systematically review your performance, knowledge and skills to check they meet current and future requirements of your work?
  • Do you regularly identify and prioritise your learning and development needs?
  • Do you seize relevant learning opportunities that fit with your preferred learning style?
  • Do you use National Occupational Standards to support you through the CPD cycle?