To PPDP or not to PPDP? Why you need a Personal Professional Development Plan

CAROL BARKER

A ‘PP’… what?

If you have decided that you want to work towards one of CILIP’s qualifications – Certification, Chartership, or Revalidation – or want to take stock of your skills and knowledge, and see how you could improve them, a Personal and Professional Development Plan (PPDP) is a great tool. This article refers primarily to the requirements for Chartership, however the principles of preparing and working through a PPDP for other qualifications remain the same. A PPDP can also be used with new staff to establish their training needs.

Your CV shows your past achievements, current responsibilities, and skills that you have developed so far. Your portfolio is a small, carefully selected collection of documents that provide evidence of your development, effectiveness, and most significant achievements. Your PPDP is the one document that looks forward, and highlights what you are aiming to achieve, and states how you will achieve your goals.

How do you know what you don’t know?

Your CV might look well-rounded at first glance, but how can you be sure your next employer will think so? You can use a PPDP template
(1) in conjunction with CILIP’s Body of Professional Knowledge
(2) (BPK) to identify any gaps in your CV, and to clearly set out how you are going to fill those gaps, and within what timeframe.

The BPK identifies the specialist subject knowledge, skills and expertise that library and information staff need to have in order to practice their profession. The BPK sets our profession apart from any other, so it serves as a helpful checklist to identify what you don’t know and what you need to know. The BPK groups these skills into three main areas: Knowledge Management, Applications Environment, and Generic and Transferable Skills.

For example, you may feel confident in answering customer’s enquiries, but do you know why the resources in your service point were chosen, and why are they organised in a particular way? You may be great at organising your time and solving problems, but do your team management skills need improvement? These are all training needs that can be identified via the BPK, and addressed through a carefully planned PPDP.

How do I fill in the Plan?

If you are submitting a PPDP in preparation for Chartership, in Section 1 you must show that you will use various methods to gain the experience you need. For example, you could visit other relevant workplaces, shadow a colleague, work with a team on a project, or write a set of user guidelines. You can’t just say that you will attend some training courses and expect your PPDP to be accepted.

You must also ensure that your training activities will help you to meet the criteria in the guidelines (3) that CILIP has set down for your particular qualification. For Chartership, you need to show that you can reflect critically on your own personal and professional development and performance, and can evaluate the effectiveness of your organisation. A day of job-shadowing your line manager may be more enlightening than a training course on line management!

Section 2 is where you show your commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and demonstrate how you are developing your knowledge and understanding of the wider professional context. Again, a variety of activities should be listed, such as networking at conferences, reading relevant journals, or joining a discussion list (such as LIS-CILIP-REG) or professional group. CPD shows your enthusiasm and commitment to your career to current and future employers too, so plan this section carefully.

Sometimes you will need to show that you are prepared to participate in your own time: why not go along and observe a meeting of your local committee of the Career Development Group (4) one evening? You will be made very welcome and offers of help are gratefully received. You may end up assisting with the preparation of a Chartership course, where you could design a leaflet, or help set up the room on the day. If you don’t control a budget in your day job, consider standing for Treasurer to gain some experience of financial management.

How can I help myself succeed?

You need to include short term and long term development needs, state how these will be met, and who will support you: your line manager, colleagues, or mentor. Your PPDP will help you keep on track so that you can stay focused on what you need to achieve.

You should ensure that your goals are all ‘SMART’, that is: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Give yourself enough time to complete the task, making allowances for everything else that is going on. You are more likely to succeed if you state that you will complete your ECDL qualification within twelve months, than if you try to squeeze it into the month inbetween finishing Project A, and starting to reorganise Library Z.

There are examples of completed PPDPs on CILIP’s website (5).

I’ve done my PPDP… now what?

If you are aiming for Chartership, you should normally submit your first PPDP to CILIP within six months of registering, having created it in consultation with your mentor.

Even when you have addressed all the training needs you started with, it doesn’t end there. A PPDP is constantly evolving: you may think of a new skill you need to develop, or realise that your knowledge of the Data Protection Act is not as good as you previously thought. The PPDP that you start out with will not be the same PPDP that you send in with your final submission to CILIP.

Keep an activity log to record your achievements and experiences, but more importantly, evaluate all your training (the subject and its delivery) and its impact on you and your performance. How you have developed? What have you learned? Have regular meetings with your mentor (or a trusted colleague) to discuss your learning and analyse your progress.

A great opportunity

The PPDP may seem onerous at first, but it really will help you to identify and develop skills for your current role, as well as transferable skills that will enable you to apply for future jobs, promotions, and secondments with increased confidence.

Carol Barker
Honorary Learning Co-ordinator

References
1) PPDP template available from: http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/FrameworkofQualifications/chartershipforms.htm [accessed 29 January 2008].
2) CILIP Body of Professional Knowledge available from: http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/bpk/ [accessed 29 January 2008].
3) Chartership handbook available from: http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/FrameworkofQualifications/charteredmem/ [accessed 29 January 2008]
4) CDG divisional contacts available from: http://www.careerdevelopmentgroup.org.uk/divisions.htm [accessed 29 January 2008]
5) Examples of PPDPs available from: http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/FrameworkofQualifications/charteredmem/chartershipexample.htm [accessed 29 January 2008]