Unfortunately, in a recession, one of the first areas of investment to be dropped is that of ongoing training and development. In every walk of life, not just teaching, continuing professional development or CPD is known to significantly contribute to performance. But it can be compared to healthy eating - we know it does us good - however, we also know that we can still function without it.

And, just like healthy eating, for CPD to have any real effect, it needs to be part of a sustained plan, tailored to the individual. This takes time and investment and a willingness on the part of all those involved to see the training through.

It can be difficult for employees to separate their work and personal lives, each being heavily influenced by the other, however by acquiring new skills and applying them to both areas of their lives, workers master how to maintain a healthy balance between the two.

Qualifications are available which build up skills both professionally and personally - such as NCFE's own range of qualifications in preparing for work and life. Qualifications and courses should be designed to meet the needs of learners and organisations equally, and recognise that personal learning styles are unique, so they should be fully flexible.

The CPD Mark - a new quality mark designed to improve Continuing Professional Development standards - was launched in September 2008. There are now more than 750 schools engaged in the process.

Shire Oak School in Walsall is the first school (outside pilot phase) to be awarded this Mark which means that it has exceeded CPD standards set by both government and by Ofsted.

Twelve months of recession and redundancies have contributed to a shift in peoples' attitudes to what they want from their professional lives, says a Future Foundation report for the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) out today.

In an effort to understand the 50 per cent increase in enquiries to teacher training over the past year, Added values: why professionals could be turning to teaching asked people from the banking, management, architecture and legal sectors whether their career priorities have changed since the recession began a year ago.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens, with its well-earned reputation for the quality of its award-winning educational courses and facilities for children, has now also introduced special continuous professional development (CPD) courses for teachers and teaching assistants, encouraging them to take their pupils beyond the confines of the traditional classroom.

The new courses, created to make the most of the Gardens' unique Growing Schools Garden, will build the confidence of education staff to teach outside the classroom in their own schools, using many subjects on the National Curriculum and at all Key Stages.