Building your career

" I am interested in recognition of my professional L&D skills and personal career development”

For many practitioners L&D became a career development backwater with the merger of the Institutes of Personnel Management and Training & Development (ITD) in 1994.

Indeed, one individual’s perception was expressed as “in our organisation, training seems to be what one does until a proper job in HR comes along.” This is demeaning to the thousands of L&D practitioners who are building satisfying and worthwhile careers facilitating others’ learning with no wish to move to an HR role. How about you?

If you gain satisfaction from helping others learn and apply new skills and knowledge, you too may have no wish to pursue a career in HR.  In that event, gaining formal recognition for the excellence of your training skills will add power to your career aspirations. The TAP Learning System has been designed to provide L&D practitioners at all levels with a range of externally-awarded qualifications rated from Level 3 to Level 5. These are highly valued and widely recognised by employers and also open up professional membership of dedicated L&D professional bodies.

"What about membership of a professional body?"

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) recognises only its own trainer certification (CTP) for Associate level membership. This is regrettable as it excludes the more than 17,000 practitioners that now hold TAP certificates and diplomas, most of which are rated higher than the Level 3 CTP.

The CIPD now has less than half the number of L&D practitioners in its membership compared to the membership of the ITD at the time of the 1994 merger. Individuals wish to belong to a professional body that truly represents their interests. This requires an Institution to be dedicated to elevating L&D to a professional status, as opposed to seeing it simply as an adjunct of HR.

With this in mind, The Training Foundation is supporting the British Institute for Learning & Development . This is focused on advancing the interests of L&D professionals rather than seeing these as subordinate to those following a career in HR. Its membership framework is constructed around the range of TAP qualifications. It means that holders of a TAP Diploma qualify to be a Fellow of the BILD.

During 2008 we expect to be adding weight to these links with the aim of giving all L&D practitioners a genuine choice as to which professional body will best support their future L&D career.