1. Personal Development Planning
21 March CDIB

2. Development
Takes the form of learning activities that prepare people for increased/different opportunities
Emphasis on self-directed learning and personal development planning
Learning Contracts
Planned learning form experience

3. Personal Development Planning
Individual activity – with support and encouragement from manager and or coach/mentor
Sets out actions you propose to take to learn/acquire skills and knowledge to develop
Take responsibility for formulating and implementing the plan
The purpose is to provide “a self-organised learning framework”
Tamkin, P, Barber, L and Hirsch, W (1995) Personal Development Plans: Case studies of Practice, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton

4. Stages of Personal Development Planning
Analyse the current situation and development needs (can be part of performance management process in work)
Set Goals ( might include improved performance in current role; acquiring skills; extending relevant knowledge)
Prepare an Action Plan
Learning objectives – what are you going to achieve
Development activities
Responsibility for development – what support from manager, HR or other parties
Timing
4. Implement the plan

5. Use a variety of Activities
Observing what others do
Project work
Planned use of e-learning
Internal learning resource centres
Mentor or coach (make sure you understand the difference – research!)
Experience new tasks
Guided reading
Special assignments
Formal training (might be part but not the most important because this is about “self” –think about the work you did on reflection and reflective learning cycles)

6. Learning Contracts Formal agreement between manager and individual
Contains what learning needs to take place and the objectives of that learning
Sets out the roles the parties will play to ensure learning happens
Partners to the contract agree how objectives will be achieved
It will set out learning programmes, coaching and mentoring and formal training
A sort of formalising of the PDP.

7. Planned Experience
Process of deciding on a sequence of experience to enable acquisition of knowledge and skills
Enabler of experiential learning to ensure meeting a learning specification
Programme of expectation of learning in various departments
What is self taught and what is formally taught is set out
Usually a mentor appointed to check progress and that the process is working
Good way of stimulating people to find out things for themselves

8. Guided Learning
Using the personal SWOT analysis you have already done – design and complete your own personal development plan covering the remainder of your degree course(s) and your own career goals for the next months.
This might not be easy as career plans might not yet be clear to you but you should make a serious attempt at this – it will be part of the portfolio for assessment.
Conduct a brief literature review of work and research around personal development planning – start with Tamkin et al (2002) and work from there – no less than six academic journal/texts at least one of which is a journal article. Don’t forget CIPD – good source of literature to get you going
Prepare a reflective report based on what you find in your literature review (1500 words) and submit it by 30 April – it will also be part of your portfolio for assessment.

9. THE PROCESS OF CAREER MANAGEMENT
Career dynamics*
Career management policies
Demand/supply forecasts
Potential assessment
Succession planning
Recruitment
Self-assessment
Career planning
Induction training
Management
Career
Mentoring and
Management
development
counselling
coaching
training
Career progression
* How career progression takes place in the organization
This resource is part of a range offered free to academics and/or students using Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 11th edition, as part of their course. For more academic resources and other FREE material, please visit and then click on Academic Resources.