IOSH
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Be the best with our CPD programme for members
Continuing professional development, or CPD, is an investment in yourself. It’s a career-long process of improvement – and it works best when it’s personal to you. Our CPD programme forms part of Blueprint, our professional journey package for members. It enables you to manage your development and safeguard your professional status.
There are four stages to IOSH CPD. You should record all your CPD activity in Blueprint. All information is secure and none of your personal details are held. Use Blueprint's 'Recite Me' tool for accessibility and language options.
Assess your capability and develop your professional plan. Use the self-assessment tool to benchmark your skills (technical, core, behavioural) against our competency framework and build a personal development plan based on the results.
Undertake your planned CPD and acquire skills and knowledge.
Refresh and grow your knowledge through CPD activities. You can find options to support your learning at the required level in Blueprint's resource library, which provides over 1,300 opportunities for carrying out your CPD. And you may already be doing CPD without realising it – the activities below all count.
- Work-based learning – eg job shadowing.
- Professional activity – eg mentoring through IOSH Mentoring platform.
- Formal learning – eg e-learning or an IOSH CPD course.
- Self-directed learning – eg reading an industry article in IOSH Magazine.
- Other activities that develop transferable skills – eg volunteering.
Log and provide evidence of your CPD. You can log any CPD activities – not just the resources we provide – in your record on Blueprint.
Apply your knowledge and skills and reflect on what you have learnt and put into practice.
Our CPD programme is one of the great benefits of membership and forms part of Blueprint – our career and self-development package. So why not start your journey today?
Requirements by grade
Our membership grades all centre on the need to develop, recognise and maintain professional competence. That’s why CPD is mandatory for the following categories:
- Technical Member
- Certified Member
- Chartered Member (plus IOSH Ethical Practice in OSH e-learning and assessment)
- Chartered Fellow (plus IOSH Ethical Practice in OSH e-learning and assessment).
You will need to complete 30 hours in a 12-month cycle. The cycle starts on joining IOSH or your renewal date. If you’ve upgraded your membership from a category with voluntary CPD to one with mandatory CPD and have been at that grade for less than six months, the CPD requirement will not apply. Your 12-month cycle will start from your renewal date.
However, we recommend all members use our CPD programme to enhance their careers.
CPD and the competency framework
Our competency framework reflects best practice in occupational safety and health (OSH). It sets the standards for the skills, knowledge and behaviours OSH professionals need to manage risk and drive change in today’s constantly evolving workplace. Our CPD programme is aligned with the framework and members can use the self-assessment tool to benchmark themselves against the competencies.
Using events for CPD
Did you know that attending events and webinars counts towards your CPD? Whether it's in-person or online, you can add this activity to your CPD record.
We recommend doing this as soon as you can after the event, while it's fresh in your mind. Why not add some time in your calendar the following day, or have a monthly slot to get you in the habit of regularly updating your CPD record.
"If you’ve not started building your CPD portfolio yet, what’s stopping you? By adopting some planning and structure to your approach, it can become embedded into your work practices. Before you’re aware, you’ve already achieved your mandatory 30 hours of recording without having to try to undertake additional work to complete this."
Paula Simons CMIOSH
- Job role
- Health and Safety Compliance Officer for Social Care
What happens if I don’t complete my CPD?
If we let members retain their grade without showing their commitment to CPD, it would devalue your achievements and reflect poorly on the standards we expect of our members. So, if you don’t comply with your CPD obligations, you will risk being transferred to Affiliate Member status – a membership grade not requiring CPD.
These sanctions will be introduced in November 2024. You can download the full CPD process guidance document at the bottom of this page.
Need help?
We can provide support and guidance to ensure you remain compliant. If you are struggling to complete your CPD, or can't find what you need, please contact the CPD Team or call them on +44 (0)116 350 0888.
For further guidance, watch our videos on understanding CPD and how to use Blueprint.
We also hold online workshops to support members with their CPD. These include a demonstration of how our CPD platform works and a chance to ask questions. All members can take part, subject to a maximum number of 35 participants per session.
