Five Reasons Why Investing in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is Important for Freelance Creatives.

If you’re a freelance artist or creative, investing in CPD can often feel like a stretch too far. Taking up an unpaid shadowing opportunity, getting some peer coaching, or participating in a course or residency, costs.

It’s easy to feel that the loss of earnings from taking time away from work outweighs the benefits of learning. First, there's the cost of the course or programme. Then factor in the extra time and associated costs of transport. And don't forget re-arranging your life and family commitments. The real cost of CPD can feel inaccessible for many

What’s the alternative? Maybe you’re happy to learn by doing on the job. Perhaps there’s a colleague or peer you could ask for help. You could read books or articles online. You could listen to podcasts. Or you could Google it. There’s a YouTube video for everything, right?

These are all acceptable alternatives to more formal, paid in-person training and coaching. Will they catalyse great leaps in your thinking and mastery? It's unlikely. They’re designed for you to acquire knowledge and skills at an incremental pace.

If you’re on the fence, here are five reasons why Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is so important and what it can do for you:

Keeping up with changes:

The world is constantly evolving and changing. The same goes for the creative industry and arts and culture professions. CPD enables you to stay up-to-date with the latest developments, trends, and technologies in your field of creative practice and expertise.

Enhancing skills and knowledge:

CPD offers opportunities to improve your skills, learn new ones, and deepen your knowledge. This can lead to bigger/better/ more commission opportunities. It can spark new collaborations and partnerships, better job performance, and career progression.

Meeting regulatory requirements:

Some creative professions require you to engage in CPD to maintain your license or certification. Failure to do so can result in penalties or even losing your license.

Demonstrating commitment to professional development:

Participating in CPD demonstrates a commitment to personal and professional growth. This is always attractive to commissioners, clients and employers.

Networking:

CPD events and activities provide opportunities for you to meet others in your field, exchange ideas and build relationships.

I set up Good Creator, to meet the professional development needs of creative freelancers, like me. People who want to develop their practice, improve their knowledge and skills, grow their impact and income, and meet other creatives. People who can’t afford the time or financial investment that traditional CPD offers need.

Over the next 12 months Good Creator will be offering a whole range of free and paid live, on-demand and self-directed CPD events and courses.

If you’re a writer, artist or theatre-maker, you can start to access some of our free learning opportunities right now. Head over to The Sessions page on our website to view our current programme of free, online events running from 30th March – 24th May 2023 in partnership with The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster.