CPD courses for Media professionals

The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has multiple segments that combine into one vertical; Movies/Cinema, Television, Music, Publishing, Radio, Internet, Advertising and Gaming. Media professionals work as part of a company's communications team with their duties being centered on helping to develop marketing, brand, or informational campaigns across a wide array of media. This article will provide a brief overview of CPD for media professionals, the professional bodies within the media industry, as well as the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.

Overview of the Media industry

The media industry is one of the largest industries in the world. The UK media and entertainment sector is now worth almost £100 billion a year, comprised of businesses that produce and distribute motion pictures, television programs and commercials. The large scale of the media industry has opened the door for a lot of employment opportunities, some of which we have grouped below:

• Advertising
• Animation
• Business-to-business (B2B) media
• Digital Marketing
• Film
• Interactive Media
• Journalism
• Music
• Post-production
• Publishing
• Radio
• Scriptwriting
• Special effects
• Technical production
• Television
• Video games
• Web design 

Graduate entry roles are often at assistant level and will include jobs such as runner, media researcher, radio broadcast assistant and editorial assistant.

Professional bodies in the Media industry

There are currently a few leading professional bodies in the media industry, we have listed some of them below with a brief description of their function:

British Interactive Media Association: The British Interactive Media Association is a not-for-profit industry body representing the digital industry in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1985, BIMA is a membership organization primarily made up of digital agencies.

European Digital Media Association (EDiMA): EDiMA is the European trade association representing online platforms, it is an alliance of new media and Internet companies.

British Video Association: The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) is a video home entertainment organization established in 1980 as the British Video Association (BVA). The association organises an annual awards ceremony in London.

Film Distributors Association: The Film Distributors’ Association represents the interests of film distributors in the UK and Ireland. It is responsible for 99% of all films released theatrically in the territory.

Advertising Association: The Advertising Association is a trade association representing advertisers, agencies and media services in the UK advertising industry.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements in Media

Maintaining your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) helps you to acquire professional skills and qualities required throughout your working life. CPD can help to increase personal satisfaction from work and also increase your contribution to the success of your organisation. Below we have outlined some examples of Continuing Professional Development requirements in the media and marketing industries.

The Institute of Data & Marketing IDM (previously known as The Institute of Direct & Digital Marketing) explains that in terms of CPD requirements, "maintaining a record of the time you spend on various activities, both within and outside the workplace, is a simple and effective way of evidencing your acquisition of the experience, knowledge and personal qualities you need to fulfil your career potential". As another example, The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) also requires all members to complete CPD, which must equate to at least 60 points and be submitted by 28th February each year. The CIPR considers Continuing Professional Development as part of being a professional, and as helping to ‘build the skills to meet tomorrow’s challenges’.

Please note: This information was correct at the time this article was written. Please check with your professional bodies website as individual membership requirements can and do change.

Different types of CPD

There are different types of CPD depending on how the learning is achieved. The different types of CPD can vary from formal training courses to eLearning, events, conferences and webinars through to self-directed study. The learning can be categorised into three different types:

Structured CPD / Active Learning: This involves interactive and participation-based learning, such as training courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, e-learning course or CPD certified events.

Reflective CPD / Passive Learning: This form of CPD is much more passive and one directional, such as watching media training videos, listening to podcasts and studying appropriate media training case studies.

Self-Directed CPD / Unstructured Learning: Reading books by media experts, industry journals and trade magazines are all types of self-directed CPD. You could also include industry-specific news feeds or research into relevant media fields.

How to manage your CPD

In terms of how best to manage your Continuing Professional Development we have found that one of the simplest tools to use is called the CPD Cycle. In summary, the CPD Cycle is a very useful tool that helps structure and plan your annual CPD learning objectives and outcomes, so that the training you undertake is suitable for your Continuing Professional Development requirements. Using the CPD Cycle can help make it easier to manage your ongoing learning effectively and keep up to date with industry developments. 

Examples of CPD courses for Media professionals

There are numerous examples of CPD courses for media professionals. It is your decision as a professional to decide which courses are most relevant to the area you specialize in. We have listed a few topics below to give you an idea of types of CPD courses available:

• Media Studies
• Journalism and Media studies
• Video Editing
• Complete Video Editing: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects
• Media Publishing 

If you are an individual that is considering a career in the media industry, then we would advise having a look at some more examples of CPD courses for media professionals to get an idea of what specialist areas exist in the industry and what appeals most to you.

How to find Media CPD courses

After reading this article you might be wondering how to find media CPD courses. Well by clicking on our CPD Media Industry Hub you can find certified CPD providers that offer training courses relevant to your profession. You can enquire about any course that you are interested in taking and we will pass your enquiry to the relevant course provider. Please visit the CPD Industry Hubs for more CPD articles, training courses, and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development.

CPD accreditation for Media courses

CPD accreditation for Media courses helps to support the professional development requirements of those working in the media industry. CPD accredited training courses helps to provide peace of mind for learners that the training has been independently checked to ensure it is suitable for ongoing Continuing Professional Development.

Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.

We hope this article was helpful. If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. 

Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.