Learning networks
The CIPD is, above all, a learning network. Or, more precisely, a collection of learning networks. Through our diverse activities, we seek to provide our members with unrivalled opportunities to learn from and share experiences with their peers and other acknowledged experts in the field of people management and development, and to draw on our authoritative information resources, evidence and guidance that supports them as they seek to improve continuously.
Rigorous assessment against our highly regarded Professional Standards ensures that chartered membership of the CIPD is recognised as the mark of the thinking performer, someone who has mastery of a comprehensive body of knowledge and practice, is proficient in applying it in business and up to speed with current developments. Our extensive array of qualifications at different levels, and covering a broad range of specialisms, enables professionals to maintain, develop and enhance their knowledge and capacity to do their jobs.
Professional qualifications
In the past year, over 12,300 students signed up for our professional qualifications – working with a training provider, university or college, full- or part-time, through distance learning or professional assessment. There has been particularly strong demand for our suite of certificate-level qualifications.
We rely on our large network of approved providers of learning to deliver our professional qualifications to our studying members. Nearly 300 centres now offer our qualifications programmes. We have 210 providers of our certificate programmes and 128 at full Professional Development Scheme (PDS) level – the completion of which secures Graduate membership of the CIPD, and, once sufficient management experience can be demonstrated, leads to chartered membership. We also have a Professional Assessment of Competence (PAC) route to membership targeted at more experienced professionals. This route is currently available through 18 approved centres and leads directly to chartered membership.
International demand
Our qualifications are not only offered in the UK and Ireland. They also attract international demand. Our centres offer qualifications in 15 countries outside the UK and Ireland, including the Gulf States, Russia and the Cayman Islands. In response to growing demand, we plan selectively to extend our range of internationally available learning and routes to qualification, working with partners who can uphold our standards and support our requirements for membership.
The CIPD has received a positive assessment from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) following its recent post-accreditation monitoring of our certificate qualifications portfolio. The QCA commended the robust and effective quality assurance systems implemented by the CIPD. We're delighted that the QCA has recognised the Institute's commitment to providing high-quality qualifications for people working in the field of people management and development.
During the past year, we've also become one of five awarding bodies piloting the new qualifications for those teaching in further education or who are responsible for delivering Learning and Skills Council funded work-based learning programmes such as Modern Apprenticeships. The Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CTLLS) will lead to Associate Teacher Status and students will be eligible for Associate membership of the CIPD.
New certificate programmes
The CIPD directly delivers a wide range of other certificate programmes tailored to specific parts of the people management and development role or related fields. During the year, our commercial operation developed ten new certificates catering for a range of experience and interests. Two new certificates in HR and training administration have been introduced for those at the early stages of their careers. Our five new CIPD advanced certificates in learning and development and our new postgraduate certificates in career and talent management and in organisational consulting are ideally suited to senior practitioners looking to build their expertise as part of their continuing professional development. The new CIPD Certificate in Managing People has also been developed specifically for line managers and is focused on the people aspects of a manager's role. We now offer a total of 24 certificate programmes for direct delivery by the CIPD. In the past 12 months, 1,400 people have attended one of these programmes. We've increased our use of technology in many of our programmes, with the provision of our Learner Support Site and the soon to be introduced 'Virtual Classroom'.
Conferences and exhibitions
Our conferences and exhibitions provide another vibrant learning and networking opportunity. Last year, over 14,000 people attended our conferences and events – including our established annual conferences, our conferences in Ireland and Scotland and the new series of spotlight conferences we launched on topical issues.
Our Annual Conference & Exhibition 2006 in Harrogate attracted over 6,000 people through the doors over the three days. The conference featured more than 100 speakers, ranging from some of the world's leading academics and HR gurus to top-class, front-line professionals working in people management and development across the public and private sectors. Keynote addresses were delivered by Renee Mauborgne, Marcus Buckingham, Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones. We also finalised plans to move the annual conference and exhibition from its traditional dates in October to a new place in the diary in September. The 2007 conference will be the first to take place in this new slot, which has been chosen to remove the regular clash with school half-term holidays.
HRD, our annual learning and development event, attracted nearly 6,000 people to the 2007 conference and exhibition in April. This was the first year that HRD was held at ExCeL London, allowing better integration of the conference and exhibition and therefore providing a better experience for conference delegates, exhibition visitors and exhibitors alike. Highlights among the impressive array of speakers included Bruce Tulgan talking on the development of a new generation of talent, and George Kohlrieser sharing the lessons on leadership he'd learned from an exciting career in hostage negotiations. Other speakers included Heather Rabbatts, Executive Chairman of Millwall Football Club and Executive Director of the Bank of England, and Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC. Plans are well underway for the CIPD to host the World Congress of the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) alongside HRD 2008 in April of next year. That will provide an opportunity for our members to engage with colleagues from around the world to discuss our global profession and for us to promote the enormous contribution that people management and development makes to the global economy.
Other highlights from last year's conference programme included:
- presentations by Nick Read, Chief Executive of Vodafone UK; Martina Milburn, CEO of the Prince's Trust, and Adrian Moorhouse, former Olympic Gold Medallist and Managing Director of Lane4, at the first CIPD leadership conference which took place in June
- the launch of the latest findings from the CIPD's in-depth research on talent management at a new conference focusing on the issue. The conference also included case studies from Google; the Carphone Warehouse; Surrey County Council and ABN AMRO
- the successful introduction of a new Recruitment Exhibition in June at Olympia, alongside our existing HR Software Show
- the launch of a new series of spotlight conferences, the first four of which focused on absence management, stress and the role of line managers, flexible working, and diversity
- presentations by the NHS Leadership Centre, BP, Jaguar and Land Rover, KPMG, Co-operative Financial Services and Post Office Ltd at the Coaching Conference, which included two update days focusing on cutting-edge coaching techniques and building your organisational coaching capability
- the CIPD’s conference in Ireland, Ireland's biggest managment conference, run last year under the theme 'The new world of work'. Speakers included Anne Heraty, Chair of the Expert Group on Future Skill Needs, CIPD Vice President Neil Roden and Ray Gammell, Director of HR, Ulster Bank Group.
Branches and forums
Our research and policy team also runs a number of professional forums. These enable members with particular interests and information needs to network with others who share these interests and to benefit from the latest research and learning in this area. The forums cover Reward, Recruitment, Counselling and Career Management, International HR, and Public Sector HR. Between them they held over 25 events last year, attracting nearly 1,000 delegates. Highlights included an event on employer branding with speakers from Virgin Atlantic and Marks & Spencer, a talk by Dr Reuven Bar-On on emotional intelligence, and a sell-out event on international reward.
Our branch network provides a powerful local element to the learning networks we operate. Across the 48 branches, nearly 700 events were organised last year. These included learning events focusing on the key professional issues on our members’ agendas, events to help student members as they progress through their courses, events to assist members seeking to upgrade to chartered status and other networking and social events. As these are all organised locally, on a voluntary basis by our members, they’re well designed to reflect the interests and priorities of members in their local areas.
Short courses
We’re also a provider of a successful suite of short courses and certificate programmes. Last year, we ran 516 public courses, attracting more than 6,500 individual learners. Our successful portfolio of employment law courses accounted for 164 of these courses and over 3,000 of the delegates.
In addition, through our In-Company Solutions service, we provide tailored in-house training and quality-assured expert consultants to organisations to help them meet business challenges. We delivered more than 500 courses in this way, reaching over 5,000 delegates. Nearly 10% of these courses were delivered to international businesses and institutions in 15 countries across Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. We're ideally positioned to respond to and develop further these international opportunities. Over two-thirds of our in-house courses were related to increasing the people management and development skills of line managers and one-third of this segment was employment law training.