Guide to Planning Your Personal and Professional Development

Produced by the Organisational Development Team, University of Liverpool

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 What is a Personal and Professional Development Plan (PPDP)?
A PPDP is a structured process undertaken by an individual to reflect on their learning and development needs and to
plan how they can fill their learning gap. Personal and Professional Development Planning is part of being a
‘reflective practitioner’ and should be part of regularly reviewing your professional knowledge and skills to
ensure they are up to date and relevant. Sometimes we are faced with new challenges which can range from
legislative requirements, new working methodologies, taking on new roles of managing people that require us
to develop new knowledge and skills. Personal development is a continuous process and never really stops.
Some professional bodies require personal development planning and continuing professional development to
be kept up to date as a condition of maintaining a professional status.

Before you can complete a plan you need to analyse your current situation and the following stages will help with
thinking this through...

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 Stages What to Consider Tools to Help
What are the expectations of you in your role over the Job Description /
1. Establish your role
next year? Are there any changes? Role Profile
expectations and career
ambitions. Will you be involved in any projects? PDR objectives
Will you be taking on new or increased management/ Professional Body
leadership responsibilities? Legal requirements
What are your career ambitions over the next 1 to 3 years?
Are there any Continued Professional Development (CPD)
developments requirements that apply to your role or as a
requirement of a professional body you are a member of?
What are you doing now in terms of your role and career? PDR
2. Determine your current
What’s going well? Feedback from
position
What are you good at? Consider knowledge, skills, and others (manager /
behaviours. peer)
What have been your key achievements / what have you SWOT Analysis
been proud of in the last year?
What skills do you have that are not currently being
utilised?
What development have you undertaken and how have
you applied it?

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 What are the gaps between what you are currently doing PDR objectives
3. Identify areas for
and the expectations of you in your role and your career SWOT Analysis
development and
aspirations?
objectives
What new tasks / responsibilities will you be taking on that
are new to you?
Are there any areas of your role that you think you could
do better?
What are your objectives?
Prioritise your needs. Development
4. Select the appropriate
What development activities are available that would help programmes
development activity
you to meet these needs. Mentoring/Coaching
What are the costs for each of the options (consider Qualifications
financial, time and resources)? Observing
From previous experience, which development activities Secondments
have you learned most from and been able to apply to - is
Action Learning
this a preferred style of learning? Should you consider
other forms of learning? Project work
Reading
PPDP
How will you know the development has been successful? PPDP Template
5. What will you do
differently? What will be the benefits?
How will you know what value you have added?
What key differences do you aim to make in your
workplace?
What will be the tangible outcomes of the activity?
You may need agreement or support from a senior
manager so build this into your plan.
Complete a PPDPProduced by the
– template Organisational Development Team
below
When will you undertake the development activity? PPDP
6. Decide on the support you
may need to achieve your
objectives Agree on a timescale based on your priorities for the
development activities.
Set an achievement date
Learning logs help to capture formal and informal learning Learning Log
7. Using a Learning Log
that has helps you to achieve your development plan. It is Template
also a structured way to develop your reflection skills. A PPDP
learning log also helps you to consider using ad hoc
learning opportunities so they are not lost as formal
learning rarely provides everything that you need.
Ask yourself what did you learn from the development
activity/ interaction/ meeting/event?
What are you doing / doing differently as a result?
What are the benefits to you and the team? (I.e. quality,
time, financial benefits).

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Do I need to add anything further to my Personal and
Professional Development Plan

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 Personal and Professional Development Plan

NAME: Job Role: Faculty/Department:

PERIOD FROM: TO:

Development Objective
What knowledge or skills do I
want to develop?
Development Activity
How will I achieve this? What is
the most appropriate
development activity?
What will I be doing differently? Support Needed? Date for
How will I know I have been What resources or support will I Achievement
successful? What key differences need? Target Dates for
do you aim to make in your Financial, time, resource review /completion
workplace?

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 Learning Log

NAME: Job Role: Faculty/Department:

PERIOD FROM: TO:

Date What did you do? Why? What did you learn from this? How have/will you use this?
Any further action?