COMP427 Professional competency and lifelong training

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COMP427Professional competency and life-long
training

• Prepared By
• Joseph Leung

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Overview

• Lifelong learning and the valueof continuous
  professional development (CPD)
• Individuals perspective
• Employers perspective
• Professional Associations perspective

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Introduction to CPD

• Requires all professionals to take personal
  responsibility for the process of updating their
  own ability to understand the range of topics
  relevant to their area of competence
• "Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the
  systematic maintenance, improvement and
  broadening of relevant knowledge and skills, and
  the development of these qualities necessary for
  the successful carrying out of professional
  duties throughout a software engineer or
  information technology professional's career. In
  this it is aimed at enhancing individual worth
  and thus corporate performance."

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Introduction to CPD

• Continuing Professional Development is an ongoing
  necessity in the ever changing technological
  world in which we live.
• The practising professional software engineers
  and information technology professionals should
  aim to remain competent throughout their working
  careers so that they can properly carry out their
  various duties.
• To this end software engineers and information
  technology professionals need to take
  opportunities to update their depth and breadth
  of knowledge and expertise and to develop those
  personal qualities required to fulfil their roles
  in industry and in society.

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Introduction to CPD

• CPD covers matters of direct technical relevance
  as well as broader studies also of importance to
  the professionals in the furtherance of their
  careers such as communication, environmental
  matters, financial management, leadership skills,
  legal aspects, marketing, occupational safety and
  health and professional ethics.

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Demand for CPD

• The community has higher dependence on software
  engineering and information technology
  professionals
• Many large scale information technology
  infrastructure have failed badly by any standard
• Rapid change in technologies
• New technical skills of software engineering and
  information technology professionals become
  outdated soon
• Traditionally, software engineering and
  information technology professionals are not good
  at inter-personal communications
• An important drive to Professionalism and Ethics

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Importance of CPD

• Competence
• Emphasis on learning
• Increased customer expectations
• Litigation
• Standards
• Quality management
• Competitiveness

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Importance of CPD

• Professional development has assumed great
  importance in all sectors of education over the
  last few years
• Focus on higher standards and improving quality
• Demands of increasing accountability mean that
  every professionals have an unprecedented need
  for ongoing professional development
• Each sector has standards or competences for
  the assessment of performance

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Individuals Perspective

• FROM
• Expectation of a job for life
• Develop a single specialist skill
• Vertical promotion
• Keep your head down
• Single employer (for entire career)
• Careers planned
• Develop a skill during an initial training period

• TO
• Reality no job is safe
• Multiple skills required
• Horizontal / lateral movement
• Innovative and take risks
• Multiple employers (portfolio of careers)
• Plan your own career
• Continuous lifelong learning

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Employers Perspective

• Develop CPD policy of objectives that reflect
  business needs
• Document and record CPD activity
• Evaluate CPD
• Pay attention to the effective management of the
  learning environment at work
• Measure the cost of professional development

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Professional associations Perspective

• Issues considered important
• Who should pay for CPD ?
• How do you measure true costs ?
• Should financial assistance be provided ?
• What is the role of CPD ?

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CPD Costs (The Individual)

• Costs of undertaking CPD
• Time personal and professional
• Commitment personal and professional

• Costs of NOT undertaking CPD
• Opportunity costs lost
• Potential loss of professional standing
• Inability to compete with fellow members of the
  professional body

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CPD Costs (The Professional Association)

• Costs of undertaking CPD
• Time allocated to running the scheme and to
  supporting members
• Commitment

• Costs of NOT undertaking CPD
• Opportunity costs lost
• Potential lost of standing amongst the profession
  if members not seen / proven to be competent

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CPD Costs (The Professional Association)

• Costs of undertaking CPD
• Preparation and dissemination of regulations /
  policies
• Provision / contracting to provide actual CPD
  activities
• Issuing guidance / support facilities
• Evaluating the policy and individual members CPD

• Costs of NOT undertaking CPD
• Lack of consistency of standards among members

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CPD Costs (The Employer)

• Costs of undertaking CPD
• Time hours / days individual away from daily
  tasks and cost of replacing individual

• Costs of NOT undertaking CPD
• Opportunity costs lost

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CPD Costs (The Employer)

• Costs of undertaking CPD
• Potential loss of staff as individual develops

• Costs of NOT undertaking CPD
• Potential liability through employees lack of
  competence
• Loss of staff due to lack of personal development
  opportunity
• Loss of market share / public support where
  employees are not seen / proven to be competent
• Potential inability to compete in the market
  against those organizations whose employees are
  kept up-to-date professionally

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CPD Activities

• Technical talks
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Presentations
• Short courses
• Conferences
• Industrial attachment and visits
• Professional activites
• Publishing technical books

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Practices of CPD

• Usually requires a minimum amount of CPD hours
  per quarter / year
• CPD hours would be recognized or endorsed by the
  professional association
• CPD programmes might be organized by the
  professional association itself or programmes of
  other associations they recognized
• Failure of achieving the minimum amount of CPD
  hours might be resulted with a downgrade or
  suspend of the membership, that depends on the
  professional associations rules and regulations

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The Necessity for Lifelong Learning

• As we enter the 21st century we face an array of
  changes
• Economic changes
• Social changes
• Technological changes
• It is an established fact that society is
  changing.
• The world economy is in transition - from the
  industrial age to the knowledge age. There are
  shifts in employment patterns as new industries
  replace old
• There is a change in the age composition of our
  communities. As a result of these changes
  barriers to trade are coming down and we are now
  part of a global economy
• The application and convergence of computing and
  communication technologies has accelerated the
  development of global business and the global
  market place
• Technology is now an integral part of the
  workplace, our homes, our community, our very way
  of living

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Economic Change

• Knowledge Economy
• As Hong Kong moves into the new millennium, and
  we seek ways of addressing the need to become a
  Knowledge Society, we not only face a bewildering
  mix of uncertainty, risk, insecurity and
  division, but also opportunity
• Globalisation
• The challenges of rapid change are all around us.
  They can be seen in radical shifts in the
  organisation of industry, business and labour
  markets
• Specialisation
• We are apparent in the rapid changes in
  occupations and the demand for new skills, and
  manifest themselves in new technology and
  communication systems

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Economic Change

• Diversity
• Gone are the days of a single career path for
  most people
• These challenges feature in the need to meet
  increased competition, and in the requirement for
  new skills and capacities at work
• Complexity, risk, uncertainty, sudden shifts
• Demand for new products and services and in the
  radical and far reaching transformation of
  technology, information and communications now in
  existence
• These changes are having great impact on
  individuals as they struggle to meet these
  challenges

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Social Change

• An ageing society
• Statistics show that we are an ageing society.
  Life expectancy at present is into the 80s, but
  people are retiring or becoming unemployed at 50
  something, so there is a need for these people to
  continue with active and interesting lives.
  Lifelong Learning is a cradle to grave process
  and each and every member of our society plays an
  important and integral part in its welfare
• Poverty, exclusion, disadvantaged groups
• Statistics also show that an increasing number of
  people are on the poverty line. These people are
  disadvantaged the most in applying for employment
  or having the confidence to take up learning
  opportunities

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Social Change

• Changes in demographics
• These are the very adults in our community whom
  we must encourage and provide easier, more
  cohesive and more connected pathways to learning
  for them to fulfil their learning potential. We
  need to be proactive about addressing their needs
  
• Changes in family types
• Hong Kong has the lowest birth rate among
  regional countries
• There is a trend showing more and more people are
  getting late in their marriages

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Technological Change

• Information and Communication Technologies
• There is no doubt that those who do not
  understand, use and develop technology within
  their field are disadvantaged in the global
  market. Where once we wrote letters now we send
  e-mails. Where once one telephone in the house
  was a luxury we now have multiple land lines,
  computer communication, and use mobiles
• Changing methods and patterns of communication
• We have cable communication, data networks,
  satellite links, and increasingly technological
  developments are ahead of its usage  
• Shift from linear to network societies
• Digital divide 

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What is Lifelong Learning ?

• It is a cradle to grave process
• It includes formal, non-formal, informal, and
  incidental learning
• It is learner driven
• It boosts confidence
• It provides cohesion

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Three Dimensions of Lifelong Learning

• Personal fulfillment for individuals
• Personal growth
• Love of learning
• Knowledge, skills and attitudes
• Employability
• Equity

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Three Dimensions of Lifelong Learning (Contd)

• Economic development of districts, regions and
  nations
• Innovation
• Competitiveness
• Productivity
• Knowledge Economy
• Ecological integrity
• Sustainability

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Three Dimensions of Lifelong Learning (Contd)

• Social development of communities
• Caring citizenship
• Quality of life
• Active participation
• Cultural richness
• Inclusion

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Put all of this together and you create a Vision
for Lifelong Learning
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Why is Lifelong Learning important ?

• provides cohesion and connectedness
• provides inclusiveness
• stimulates new partnerships
• changes focus from institutions to learners and
  learning
• boosts competitiveness
• improves quality of life
• reduces unemployment
• promotes cultural development
• reduces barriers
• reduces inequality

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Old and new styles of delivering learning


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Characteristics of a Learning Society

• Learning is accepted as a continuing activity
  throughout life
• Learners take responsibility for their own
  progress
• Assessment confirms progress rather than brands
  failure
• Capability, person and shared values,
  team-working are recognised equally with the
  pursuit of knowledge
• Learning is a partnership between students,
  parents, teachers, employers and the community
  who all work together to improve performance
• Everyone accepts some responsibility for the
  learning of others
• Men, women, the disabled and minority groups have
  equal access to learning opportunities
• Learning is seen as creative, rewarding and
  enjoyable
• Learning is outward-looking, mind-opening and
  promotes tolerance, respect, and understanding of
  other cultures, creeds, races and traditions
• Learning is frequently celebrates individually,
  in families, in the community and in the wider
  world.

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Challenges of Life-long Learning

• Time Management
• Too many temptations
• Self disciplines
• Insufficient working experience
• Financial constraints
• Peer group pressure

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Life-long learning opportunities in Hong Kong

• Professional associations
• eg. HK Institute of Engineers, Institute of Human
  Resource Management, Chartered Institute of
  Marketing, .
• Extramural studies
• eg. HKU SPACE, SPEED, SCOPE, LIFE,
• Vocational training
• eg. HKPC, VTC
• On-job training
• Self-study

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Reference Sites in Hong Kong

• Education and Manpower Bureau
• www.info.gov.hk/emb
• CPD Alliance
• www.cpdalliance.i.am
• Joint Professionals Centre
• www.hkprofessionals.org

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Government Funding

• Continuous Education Fund (CEF)
• The Continuing Education Fund (CEF) subsidizes
  adults with learning aspirations to pursue
  continuing education and training courses.
  Eligible applicants will be reimbursed 80 of
  their fees, subject to a maximum sum of
  HK10,000, on successful completion of a
  reimbursable course or module(s) forming part of
  the course. The fees for more than one
  reimbursable course may be reimbursed, subject to
  the maximum ceiling of HK10,000 per applicant
  not being exceeded .

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Government Funding

• Skills Upgrading Scheme
• The "Skills Upgrading Scheme" provide continuous
  learning opportunities for in-services employees
  from different industries. The courses are
  jointly designed by the representatives of
  employers, employees and training organizations.
  A major part of course fee will be subsidized by
  the government. The scheme has also put in place
  a stringent quality assurance mechanism. The
  skills qualification a trainee received under the
  Scheme will be widely recognized by employers in
  the industry.

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Conclusion

• The essence of Lifelong Learning is that
• Learning should become as natural as breathing
• Learning should be both lifelong and life-wide
• Learning is about securing our future.
• Lifelong learning is a self-perpetuating process
  - the more successful it is, the more successful
  it becomes