All members (AssocRICS, MRICS and FRICS) must record their CPD activity online. APC candidates shouldcontinue to record their activities on the APC templates.
All members must complete 20 hours of CPD activities by 31 December. You have until 31January to record your completed activities online.
CPD requirements for members
In certain circumstances it may be difficult to meet the minimum CPD requirements. This mayinclude the following groups:
In these circumstances we would ask that members keep up to date at least informally and thatthey consider their learning and development needs prior to returning so that they are ready andcompetent to return to work when able to do so. Members who feel that they may have difficulty inmeeting the requirements should contact us as soon as possible Our Frequently Asked Questionsmay also help.
Formal CPD can be any form of structured learning that has clear learning objectives andoutcomes, such as a professional course, structured online training, technical authorship, learningthat includes an assessment measure. This can include self-managed learning as long as it has aclear learning outcome which is clearly linked to the member’s development needs. We mayrequest to see evidence of any formal CPD activity; this may include demonstration of learningoutcomes together with any supporting documentation.
Informal CPD is any self-managed learning that is relevant or related to your professional role.This could include activities such as private study, on-the-job training, attendance at informalseminars or events where the focus is on knowledge sharing.
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Any CPD activity, whether formal or informal, should be planned wherever possible and berelevant to your role or specialism. Any activity that does not have a clear learning objective thatrelates to your role and specialism cannot be considered as appropriate CPD. Activities such asnetworking, social events, informal team building or planning events and involvement on boards,committees or clubs that have little or no relevance to your professional role will not count towardsyour CPD requirements.
All members are required to undertake learning in relation to our Global Professional and EthicalStandards at least once every three years.
In keeping with current arrangements, members who are affiliated with statutory or RICS schemesare still required to comply with these schemes' specific CPD obligations. Scheme-specific CPD iscounted as formal CPD.
For their own benefit as well as to meet the requirements of the Rules of Conduct, firms are well advised to have an active involvement in the training of employees to ensure they remain competent. A good appraisal system will include the ability to identify and rectify gaps in knowledge and skills, and allow employees to record the learning activities that they have undertaken. A firm should also be supportive of employees' personal development, for example through allowing study and training time during working hours or through annual leave, or through helping employees financially to undertake learning.
Ensuring staff keep their skills and knowledge up to date and that they remain competent to perform their duties is vital for firms. A comprehensive training programme benefits not only the firm, but also its members of staff and customers. A comprehensive training policy is important for the following reasons:
As part of their annual return, firms are currently asked whether they have procedures in place tocomply with this rule. It's important that your firm can answer 'yes'. There are many ways thatfirms can fulfil their training obligations to ensure employees remain competent.
Employees should be supported in their personal learning: this is an important part of being aresponsible employer. Members of staff may be offered financial support for learning, allowed timeoff work in order to study or attend courses, or allowed study time in work.
It is best practice to have a policy in place to offer training and development to employees. This might be through providing in-house training or through sourcing courses externally. Members should consider different ways of providing training. It need not be limited to technical skills, but may also include 'soft' skills such as report writing or IT. Apart from courses, effective training methods might include lunchtime seminars provided by expert members of staff, mentoring or online learning.
The firm should have a procedure in place to identify any gaps in performance at a corporate, departmental or individual level. Managers should identify areas in which individuals require training and this should be linked to the firm's appraisal process as part of their training and development policy.
Our market research reveals that a quarter of members use their firm's system to record theirCPD. A firm-wide recording system is a valuable tool for staff to record their learning, appraisalsand development, as well as allowing firms to keep track of what training has been provided. Youmay wish to allow individuals to record their own personal learning as well as corporately providedlearning. A recording system should enable individuals to plan learning goals, state actions taken,assess results of their learning, and consider what other skills need to be improved.
If you have encouraged staff to use the firm's learning recording system, you should allow themaccess to their records upon request and ensure that those who have left the firm have copies oftheir learning records.
RICS Regulation can use the online CPD management portal to check compliance statistics andCPD records. This information may be shared with your employer if they are a regulated firm.Each year RICS Regulation will select a random sample of CPD records for comprehensivereview.
Your CPD activities should be recorded on the online CPD management portal on an ongoing basis. If you have difficulties undertaking CPD or recording your activities online, please inform RICS Regulation at the earliest opportunity:
If you have failed to record sufficient CPD in a year to meet the requirements of the rule, you will receive a caution in accordance with with Rule 3c of the Regulatory Tribunal Rules 2020 (in effect 2 March 2020). The approach to imposing disciplinary sanctions for breach of CPD requirements is set out in the Sanctions Policy approved by the Standards and Regulation Board. The Sanctions Policy in effect since 2 March 2020 confirms at section 22 that a first breach will incur a Fixed Penalty (caution) and a second breach will incur a Fixed Penalty (caution and fine). Third or subsequent breaches occurring during the 10 year period, will be dealt with by referral to Single Member or Disciplinary Panel with presumption of expulsion.
All disciplinary decisions are retained in the Disciplinary History of a Member. However, the reliance on those decisions over 10 years or the disclosure of that information, will be subject to consideration of whether or not it is in the public interest to do so.
