Undertaking lifelong learning (LLL) is an essential part of being a professional. Creation of a competent, innovative, forward looking profession as well as the individual is attained by proactive and targeted learning.

This article describes the new requirements for LLL and the philosophy behind them.

What is the requirement for members?
Until 4 June 2007, members were required to undertake 60 hours of lifelong learning in each three-year period. Under the Rules of Conduct for Members introduced from that date, the requirement is as follows:

"Competence
Members shall carry out their professional work with due skill, care and diligence and with proper regard for the technical standards expected of them”

“Lifelong learning
Members shall undertake and record appropriate lifelong learning and, upon request, provide RICS with evidence that they have done so”

The new rule provides members with a greater degree of flexibility and autonomy in planning and undertaking their learning activities but places additional responsibility on members for evaluating the nature and amount of learning to be undertaken.

What is appropriate?
How do you decide how much and what type of learning is ‘appropriate’? Firstly, it is important to consider why you are undertaking LLL. For example it could be:

• To remain competent for the benefit of your clients
• To remain competent for the benefit of your employer
• To gain knowledge needed to move into a new area of business
• To develop a skill needed for promotion, such as management expertise
• To learn a new skill such as a new language
• To remain up-to-date with new developments in your area of expertise
• To keep abreast of new advances in technology
• To comply with a statutory requirement, for example the requirement for home inspectors to undertake 20 hours LLL per year in a related subject.

The reasons you identify for undertaking learning will form the basis of your learning plan.

When you have identified why you are undertaking your learning, you can decide which activities and subjects are appropriate for you.

The reasons you have identified for undertaking LLL will form the basis of your learning objectives.

Methods of undertaking LLL
Methods of undertaking learning can be grouped into four main areas;

• professional work-based activities,
• personal and informal learning,
• voluntary or charity work, and
• courses, seminars and conferences.

There are a number of different learning activities which you can consider undertaking.

Activities such as courses, seminars mentoring, volunteering, work-based training, structured reading or online tutorials may all contribute to your learning plan.

Different activities and methods will suit different learning styles, and different learning objectives.

Again, it is important to consider the quality of the activity that you are undertaking.

How much is appropriate?
How much learning you need to undertake depends on your individual circumstances and learning needs.

Generally, someone who is new to an area of business or who is looking to gain new skills will need to undertake more learning than someone who is keeping up-to-date.

In most fields it would be unusual for a practitioner to be able to remain competent without performing at least some LLL to keep abreast of areas of change so not undertaking any learning in a given year would not normally be acceptable.

It is important to consider of quality of learning, as well as points or hours.

Spending all day in a seminar is of little use if only one speaker or topic was relevant or of use to you.

Equally, an activity which takes up little time, for example an hour-long breakfast briefing may be very useful in meeting your learning needs.

Undertaking learning is the key to personal advancement and that of the profession.

Although we recognise that you must be mindful of commercial pressures and may find it difficult to spend time and money on learning activities, this can be taken into account in your learning plan and the new system is designed to allow you to be more flexible in the light of market conditions.

Why plan and record learning activities?
It is important to plan your learning activities in order to gain maximum benefit from them; a structured programme designed to build upon existing knowledge and previous activities will always be more effective than simply attending courses that look interesting.

Recording learning that you have undertaken is useful in order to reflect on what you have gained from your activities, how you are going to apply what you have learnt and what further learning you need to undertake.

Keeping records also allows you to demonstrate that you have sought to maintain your competence in the event that a claim or allegation is made against you.

Finally, your record of learning should help you to demonstrate to RICS how you have sought to meet the LLL requirement in the Rules of Conduct for Members.

The method of recording is not specified by RICS and can be tailored to you’re your needs.

You may wish to use your firm’s system for recording training and development; you may decide to use your own system for example a spreadsheet; or you may prefer to use one of the recording systems available from RICS.

Whatever method you decide to use to record your learning, it would usefully include the following information:

• Learning objective
• Date
• Subject area
• Method of learning
• Number of hours
• Points, if awarded
• Learning outcome

What are the obligations for firms?
Regulated firms also have obligations to ensure that staff are competent. The requirement in the Rules of Conduct for Firms is as follows:

“Competence
A firm shall carry out its professional work with due skill, care and diligence and with proper regard for the technical standards expected of it”

“Training
A firm shall have in place the necessary procedures to ensure that all its staff are properly trained and competent to do their work”

For their own benefit as well as to meet the requirements of the Rules, firms are well advised to have an active involvement in the training of employees to make sure that 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.

Conclusion
Far from being more lenient, the new requirements for LLL are intended to encourage members to think carefully about their post qualification learning.

The intention is that, on the one hand members should adopt a more targeted approach to their learning and on the other, a more flexible approach to when, where and how to learn should enable members to tailor LLL to their own needs and the opportunities and pressures they face from one year to the next.

RICS Regulation July 2008