About Learning and Continuous Professional Development

Here's how we help the best agencies and the best people in the industry become even better at what they do.

hero image

Agencies need to attract the best and brightest and continually nurture people's skills to keep up with the changing market. That's why we champion learning and development. Through our Continuous Professional Development (CPD) learning programme we help you not only meet your client's needs but achieve your business goals too.

For Registered Members: Login, Access Your Diary and Learning

 

The Power of Learning

    Why you need Continuous Professional Development

    CPD is good for people, good for the industry, and good for business. The IPA’s industry leading mandatory CPD Accreditation equips our members with the tools to build, deliver and evaluate programmes of learning and development with the same sharp approach to effectiveness as they build, deliver and evaluate campaigns. 

    Agencies who achieve the IPA’s accolade for CPD excellence, CPD Gold, continue to make the business case for investing in learning and development. On average, the CPD Gold agencies saw:  

    • 78% staff retention
    • £256,594 saved in recruitment fees
    • £5.42 return on every £1 invested in L&D
    • 96% client retention

    For ambitious practitioners, CPD is not optional. It's essential to give their business the skills and professionalism that clients expect.

    In 2016 the IPA was awarded a Royal Charter, the gold standard for professional bodies. It is government recognition that an institution represents and regulates a genuine profession.

    CPD is a key driver in this, turning an ever more professional industry into an appropriately rewarded profession that attracts and retains the best and the brightest.

    Directory of IPA Courses and Qualifications

    Today approx. 30,000 people have studied for an IPA-examined qualification or assessed course in more than 80 countries.

    Our comprehensive training programme offers a wide range of courses and qualifications covering all four major practice areas:

    1. Media/Comms Planning
    2. Client Service/Commercial/HR
    3. Strategy/Planning/Effectiveness
    4. Creative/Production

    Bespoke training

    Our Professional Development team can help you plan a bespoke training programme to help meet your agency’s business objectives and your team’s career goals. One of the team will be happy to chat with you to take the brief. 

    We can also advise and negotiate rates with our regular trainers on one-off bespoke training that can be hosted in your agency. If you can fill a course with six or more delegates this can be extremely cost-effective. 

    IPA Qualifications available globally 

    Now you can take advantage of our award winning learning and development programme wherever you are in the world. And of course, if you can pop back to the UK, you're welcome to take advantage of our wide range of offline events and courses too. Lots of international practitioners do. 

    If you're unable to travel, email [email protected] and we can see if we can run a course in your country. We're here to help you as much as we can.

    We collaborate closely with representatives around the globe to localise content for your local market. So, whether you're working as an account director in Dubai, a marketing executive in Shanghai or a communications planner in Dallas, you can be sure our courses are relevant to your market. And in this fast changing world, we make sure all our courses are regularly updated to keep the content fresh and applicable.

    Download our Guide to IPA Courses and Qualifications (pdf)

    Learning and development journeys

    Learning and development journeys

    Contact

    We are here to help you find the right training and development approach for you and your agency.

    Training and Development Team

    Telephone

    020 7235 7020

    Last updated 07 February 2024

    There is a clear link between CPD and a happy, successful organisation. When learning is part of the DNA of the agency it permeates everything you do. We all need to view ourselves and our companies as being in a constant state of progress.