What is the best continued professional development training for directors?

Continued professional development for directors is something that can really help directors make a real change within an organisation and bridge the gap in skill sets.

Directors are the leaders of an organisation and developing their leadership and companywide skills have a positive impact on businesses in an ever-changing world.

These crucial skills are better achieved when directors undergo continued professional development. These include:

learning business strategies - to drive organisational growth
building and empowering teams
identify risks and how to manage them
turning new emerging technologies into a competitive advantage
gaining a deeper knowledge of financial organisation workings.

In this blog post, we will outline what the best continued professional development training is for directors, show you the different types of director training, which include certified and non-certified programmes and give you some examples.

What continued professional development training courses are there for directors?

There are both certified and non-certified programmes for continued professional development training for directors. The certified programmes include courses from leading institutes. This includes the Institute of Leadership (ILM) Management and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Non-certified director programmes are just as beneficial as certified ones. These courses tend to be more specialist for when one skill needs developing. These courses include competencies in Finance, Leadership, Strategy, Governance, Marketing, Operational Excellence and Non-Executive Director programmes.

Why are continued professional development training courses important for directors?

Undertaking continued professional development training when you’re a director is important for both you and the organisation you work for. It ensures both your academic and practical training are continually updated and current.

The official CPD Certification Service describes continued professional development as ‘lifelong learning’ that ‘allows for individuals to continually ‘up skill’ or ‘re-skill’ themselves regardless of their occupation, age, or educational level.’

Continuing Professional Development director training improves your skills and enhances your workplace performance to help you make better decisions for your organisation, leading to an increase in potential business growth.

Here are some other reasons why continued professional development for directors is important and some related courses to these skills:

Increases competitive advantage – Directors Strategy and Directors Finance Programmes
Improves business standards – Director Governance and Operational Excellence Programmes
Futureproofs the business – Directors Strategy Programmes
Encourages better decision-making – Directors Strategy and Directors Leadership Programmes
Allows you to encourage better teamwork and helps you motivate employees giving them purpose and direction – Director Leadership Programmes.

The best non-certified continued professional development training programmes for directors

Many training providers can provide continued professional development training for directors, with either virtual or face-to-face learning environments.

Some Universities have continued professional development training programmes, so it’s worth reaching out to your local University. Or if you attended a particular University then reach out to their alumni association. There may be some benefits when you have been a student at that university already.

When thinking about what director training course you need it’s important to think about the five main areas directors should have competencies in, to understand the day-to-day running of the organisation and give you the skills and knowledge to become a high-performing director.

The five core competencies directors should have in an organisation:

There are also three other continued professional development training for directors that you should take into consideration:

Collectively these director training programmes will sculpt you into a successful all rounded director. Helping you create and obtain excellent results in an ever-changing world. A programme such as a Directors Development Academy would be a great example of this way of training.

It’s important to note that many training providers allow you the option to accredit your non-accredited director training if you met all the standards.

The best certified continued professional training options for directors

The best certified continued professional development training for directors is provided by two institutes. The Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Management Institute. Both are equally as good as the other, but it depends on what you want to get out of your director training and what type of learning is best for you.

9 in 10 learners said they were able to apply the leadership and management skills learnt through ILM to their day-to-day job role and would recommend our qualifications, programmes and/or apprenticeships.

80% of managers said that a CMI qualification is a key part of becoming a professional manager.

The ILM and CMI both offer a selection of renowned accredited programmes starting from Level 2 and going up to Level 7. A Level 7 is equivalent to a Masters Level, which is the level directors should be working at and accredited to.

There are slight differences when thinking about which institute to go with. Typically ILM accreditations are more practical and have shorter modules than a CMI accreditation. This allows you to study many core competencies at once but in less depth.

Effectively an ILM director accreditation is perfect when you need to acquire knowledge in many subjects at once or are just starting out in your director profession.

A CMI accreditation on the other hand is better if you are wanting to gain a deeper knowledge of professional leadership and practice for directors. You will study fewer modules, but they will be in more depth.

CMI accreditations tend to be more strategically focused letting you develop a greater level of strategic thinking. So, it entirely depends on what you want out of your continued professional development as a director and what you and your organisation need in skill sets.

Non-accredited and accredited continued professional development training for directors is extremely important in giving you that wider knowledge to successfully succeed both professionally for yourself and your organisation.