Every Professional needs to do this at least once every three years. Renew their professional license. And in order to be able to renew their license they need to earn the required number of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) units. And they do this by attending CPD seminars.
Traditionally, these seminars are held at a specific venue, for a specific date and time with a specific number of slots available for participants. Although these factors may not be a problem for some, it is for a lot of others. Let’s look at them one by one.
Venue
This is usually held in a hotel or school auditorium which can house a large number of people. They are usually held in urban centers to insure there are enough participants to make the seminar worthwhile in terms of cost. This may not be a big problem for people living in Metro Manila or major urban centers, but it can be a problem for people living in smaller cities or towns.
First, need to travel to these urban centers in order to be able to attend these seminars. Traveling expenses may involve plane, bus or ship fares. Second, they will need a place to stay near the venue especially if it’s a bit far from their place of residence. Third, travel may mean missing extra workdays especially if the seminar is scheduled on a working weekday.
Even for those living in Metro Manila and major urban centers. Traveling (whether driving or commuting) to these venues may takes hours traveling through traffic. When they are scheduled in weekdays, commuting or even taking taxis and Grab may become a nightmare. Driving there means slogging through traffic behind the wheel and circling around to find parking.
Ten million Filipinos live and work outside the country, many of them professionals. Having to come home, attend these seminars in order not to lose their hard earned professional license can be overwhelming. Although, OFWs are temporarily exempted from the CPD requirements during the transition period, they will eventually be restored once that is over.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take your CPD wherever you want or happen to be. While commuting or driving to work. While on the way to Tagaytay for a weekend getaway. While sitting on the airport waiting for your flight. Or even in your bed just before going to sleep. No traffic. No travel. No stress. In the comfort of your own home.
Specific date and time
The specificity of date and time with which these seminars are held can be a problem. If it happens to conflict with work or other important scheduled activity limiting what seminars you can attend. It may mean loss of revenues or opportunities.
You may have to renew your license pretty soon and there is no conveniently scheduled seminar that you can earn your CPD units in time for your license renewal date. Or the only available seminar date is a two hour plane ride or boat ride away.
You may live and d work outside the country. Taking time off from work and traveling all the way home just to fulfill CPD requirements is not easy and wastes time and money. You could take it during vacations, but wouldn’t you rather spend it with friends and family.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to earn your CPD units anytime you need it and want it. No need to follow someone else’s schedule or wait for a specific date to take it. No need to miss work or use vacation days.
Specific number of Slots
Any venue will have limited space and the more space you allocate the higher the costs involve in providing CPD seminars in these venues. Therefore, to keep costs low, there is a need to limit the seats available to accommodate participants who want to attend the seminar. Even if cost is no object, eventually the size of the venue will limit the total number of participants.
This limitations can cause problem in certain situations. For example a seminar you need is scheduled near your place but it’s fully booked. You are now forced to look for an available seminar farther away on a more inconvenient schedule.
Like what is happening in the Philippines right now, there are too few seats to accommodate everyone who needs to earn the right number of CPD units to comply with requirements for license renewal. Hence the setting up of a transition period where the required number of CPD units for license renewal was temporarily lowered to a minimum of 5 per year from 15 per year.
Summary
The biggest advantage of earning your CPD Online is that you can take it anytime and anyplace at your convenience. You can take it at your own pace. You save on travel costs and even hotel bills. And when you are in a rush, you can take it as soon as you want without having to wait.
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