Professional skills
The OU has always recognised the need to continually develop the skills you need to help your career. Now, we offer a new style of continuing professional development (CPD) – courses specifically targeted at updating and extending your skills in the workplace. You can learn new skills and acquire knowledge and ideas that you can immediately apply in practice.
Why the OU?
Why come to the OU for CPD rather than a one or two day face-to-face training course?
- For quality and relevance – all our CPD courses are of the same standard as traditional OU courses, quality assured by external professionals within the appropriate industry.
- For flexibility – you can sign up for CPD courses at any time, and take as long as you want to complete them. Studying online ensures you can access the materials whenever you have access to the internet.
- For value and expertise – with our distance learning experience and renowned expertise we can offer 30 hours of learning for as little as £275.
How CPD works at the OU
Based entirely online, these professional skills courses take approximately 30 hours or less to complete. This does not mean you spend all 30 hours in front of a computer; you will have the opportunity to reflect on the course materials and how it relates to your work situation.
Learning support is part of the package. Unlike standard OU courses, you don’t attend tutorials or day schools. Our learning advisers are wholly online providing support through personal email or open forum discussions. They also provide personal feedback on work based activities making the learning truly individual.
To complete the course is quite straightforward – you complete a work based activity. There are two types of work based activities on these courses:
- Most courses are designed with an integrated activity, which you complete as you study the course. This activity forms the base of your work based activity with some added reflection.
- Some courses are designed to have a reflective question at the end, drawing together the full learning of the course and applying it to your work situation.
On successful completion, you will receive personal feedback on your assignment and a Certificate of Completion from the OU. This can be used as evidence of CPD for your employer or professional body. It will detail the number of hours you have studied and the learning outcomes of the course you have completed.