What is CPD and why does it matter in international education recruitment?
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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an increasingly important consideration for international education agencies operating in a fast‑changing and competitive environment. Counsellor expertise, judgement, and the accurate application of information all play a direct role in how your agency’s services are perceived by prospective students and institution partners.
This emphasis on capability is reflected across industries. A 2025 CIPD study found that more than 60% of organisations plan to increase investment in learning and development to address skills shortages among staff and improve retention, signalling a broader shift in workforce planning. Other global workforce reports, including Coursera’s Global Skills Report, similarly point to growing concern about skills gaps and the role of upskilling in maintaining organisational capability and competitiveness.
While CPD is a formal regulatory requirement in sectors such as healthcare and law, it is typically voluntary in international education. Even so, it provides a practical way for you to demonstrate a commitment to professional standards, maintain consistency, and respond to changing expectations within your agency. By approaching CPD proactively, you can help to set the tone for how knowledge is maintained and applied across your organisation.
When organisations consider CPD, the discussion often centres on time, cost, competing priorities and return on investment. These are reasonable concerns, especially if you are operating with a lean team, managing seasonal or fluctuating workloads, or balancing immediate operational demands with longer-term training needs.
In a sector with relatively high staff mobility, it is also understandable to question whether development investment will deliver a lasting return if employees move on.
At the same time, capability shows up in daily operations in ways that may not be immediately visible. Quality training influences how confidently your counsellors explain options to students, how consistently information is shared across your team, and how effectively your agency responds to industry changes.
A structured CPD approach helps you keep knowledge current across the organisation, rather than relying on informal updates or individual initiative alone. It helps counsellors develop their skills, which in turn supports your business over time.
Increased Productivity and Performance: Structured learning is often linked, in day-to-day practice, with improvements in competence, confidence, and efficiency. Well-trained counsellors are less likely to make mistakes, usually require less supervision, and give you the autonomy to address skills gaps internally. Collectively, these things position your team to provide clearer and more accurate advice for students and improved service quality.
Enhanced Innovation and Agility: Teams that engage in continuous development are often better placed to respond to transition. Engagement in CPD can help counsellors adjust more smoothly to changes in entry requirements, visa settings, institutional policies, or market demand. It also sets the stage for more confident, active contributions to the business.
Stronger Employer Brand and Talent Attraction: Organisations with visible development pathways are often perceived as more attractive by experienced professionals, as indicated by a 2025 Randstad Workmonitor survey, which found that 75% of employees surveyed consider training and development a key factor when making job choices. A clear approach to CPD can therefore support your recruitment efforts by signalling that your agency values professional standards and invests in maintaining relevant skills, which is particularly important in competitive hiring markets.
Stronger Brand Image in a Competitive Market: In client‑facing industries like international education, a visible commitment to staff development can help strengthen trust and credibility with students and institution partners, as it signals a focus on professional standards and up-to-date knowledge.
Several large-scale studies suggest that employees are more likely to stay with organisations that invest in their growth. For example, the Work Institute’s 2025 Retention Report found that lack of growth opportunities, inadequate career progression, or insufficient professional development remained the leading cause of voluntary turnover, accounting for nearly 19% of employee departures. This pattern has been consistent for more than a decade, suggesting that access to development continues to influence decisions about whether to stay with an employer.
The same report identified a gap between expectations and delivery. Only 14% of business leaders strongly agreed that their organisation provides effective career development opportunities, indicating that development is an area where many employers struggle to meet employee needs.
Leadership capability also plays a role in how development is experienced day to day. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace research reports that managers who receive structured training in people‑management practices have shown higher engagement themselves, by up to 22%, with team engagement increases of up to 18%. This indicates that development is more likely to take hold when reinforced through capable team leadership.
For international education agencies, this context is useful when considering CPD. While professional development alone does not guarantee retention, a visible and structured approach can help signal that your agency is committed to maintaining skills, supporting career growth, and offering a sustainable professional environment. Where development pathways are unclear or absent, employees may be more inclined to seek opportunities elsewhere, increasing your recruitment and onboarding costs.
For many agencies, CPD is most effective when it is treated as a planned, proportionate part of operations rather than a one-off initiative. When aligned with your business needs and delivered in a scalable way, it can support more consistent service delivery, stronger performance across your team, and greater resilience as requirements and expectations change.
Ultimately, investing in counsellor development supports both your people and your agency.
Read more about how CPD works and training pathways with ICEF here, or reach out to our team at academy@icef.com for more information.
