Research into trends in continuous professional development (CPD) suggests that mandatory development will be required by over 85% of professional bodies within the next five years.

The research by consultancy-led learning publisher, Echelon Learning, sought to determine the current provision of CPD, the future requirements of these bodies for professional development, and whether and how they will want to publish, distribute and track CPD in the future.

It found:

• All but one of respondents thought that their requirement for CPD would increase, with none predicting a decrease.

• The methods of recording CPD varied, with "number of hours" being the most popular, while 21% of respondents do not currently track CPD at all.

• Accreditation of student learning is offered by just under half of responding professional bodies with the majority of this learning being published by external organisations.

• Where learning is published by a professional body, less than half is through a content management system, which facilitates ease of re-purposing and updating. The potential of this method of publishing is considered by respondents almost universally to be of value.

• Around 65% of respondents already offer CPD material via their website, with the remaining third considering this a valuable method of distribution.

Commenting on the research findings, Echelon’s David Hill said: "Clearly, CPD is becoming increasingly important to professional bodies and their members as its benefits to them and their customers become more evident.

"This will be hastened further by the growing pressure by Government on professions post debacles such as Enron, Worldcom etc to ensure their members keep their skills and knowledge up to date."

* Echelon's research was based on questionnaire emailed to 175 officers of professional bodies.