CDI 2030 Strategy

The CDI's 2030 Strategy sets out the direction for the professional body for the coming years. With a focus on enhancing professionalism, the strategy aims to strengthen the role of career development professionals in supporting individuals, the economy and society.

2030 Strategy summary

CDI 2030 Strategy

The CDI 2030 Strategy builds on the progress made under our 2025 Strategy, which increased the CDI's impact for members and in championing the profession.

It has been developed by the CDI Board and team with input from a wide range of individual stakeholders, member workshops and reviews by the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee and the Members' Advisory Council. The direction of the strategy was also heavily influenced by the research the CDI commissioned, carried by iCeGS in 2024, looking at qualifications and professionalism in career development. This highlighted key areas where more can be done to enhance the professional standing of the sector.

Enhancing Professionalism

CDI 2030 Strategy - professionalism

The overarching focus of the 2030 Strategy is on enhancing professionalism. We are proud of the be the professional body for career development and know that we need to keep driving standards, capability and recognition for the sector, in order for us to be in the best position to help the young people and adults we support, to be valued by employers and to inform policy.

Entry and Progression

We need clear routes into the profession that encourage new entrants, ensuring that we have a sustainable and appropriately qualified workforce. We know there are challenges with attracting people to the profession as well as with progression pathways.

Work in this area will include reviewing the qualifications associated with professional practice in all its forms, including clarifying the role of the level 4, level 6 and level 7 qualifications (SCQF levels 7, 10 and 11). It also links to the Valued by Employer section in encouraging investment in career development staff beyond gaining their qualifications.

Professional Recognition

The strategy sets out our aim to put the Register at the heart of professional recognition. We want to get to a position where, if you work in career development then you expect - and are expected - to be on the Register.

We have started a consultation on fundamental changes to the Register, the prime one being to evolve its purpose to recognise what people are qualified to do, rather than the level of qualification they hold. We are also exploring the idea of sub-Registers for different capabilities and specialist practice.

this would make the Register more robust and more inclusive of all areas of careers support.

CDI 2030 strategy- professional recognition

Continuous Development

A critical part of being a professional is continued investment in maintaining and developing your skills and knowledge. The 2030 Strategy sees the CDI commit to ongoing investment in CPD for career development professionals, building on the launch of our new, comprehensive CPD programme.

This pillar also relates to the continued evolution of the profession itself, recognising and responding to the changing environment in which we would and the needs of clients. This includes anticipating the impact of AI and climate change, shifting demographics and changing policy related to careers.

Belonging

Our fourth pillar is to foster a greater sense of belonging among career development professionals. We want people to feel that this is more than a job, that they are part of a community that provides support and respect, where they can learn, collaborate and be part of something bigger.

With the fragmentation of careers provision - mainly in England - many career development professionals feel isolated. Online groups - such as the CDI's Community of Practice - offer some support, but there is much more to do. We will explore ways to increase engagement and interaction between members, including through the Nations and Regional communities.

Foundations

2030 Strategy foundations

Underpinning the four pillars are two critical foundational aspects. Professionalism in career development must be based on values-based practice and prioritising the client's needs. The CDI Code of Ethics is a cornerstone of what makes us a profession, with clients, employers and governments clear that practitioners are informed, impartial and client-centred. We will continue to review and update the Code of Ethics so that it remains relevant, valued and visible among clients, employers and policymakers.

To drive recognition of career development as a critical profession, we need to demonstrate the impact we have through a stronger knowledge-base of evidence. The CDI will build on our investment in the Research Directory to showcase the available research and insights. We will also encourage research from academics and practitioners, as well as commission occasional landmark studies, to support arguments for greater investment by employers and policymakers, as well as engagement by members of the public.

Valued by Members

At the heart of the CDI is our members. Over the course of the 2030 Strategy, we aim to offer even greater value to our members so that they gain meaningful benefit from the services and support that we provide.

But beyond that, we want members to see CDI membership as being a core part of their professional identity, championing the wider profession and enabling them to elevate their voices.

Valued by Employers

An area where we want to significantly increase our efforts is in working with employers. There are three aspects to this strand. First, we will focus on supporting organisations who employ careers staff – from schools, colleges, training providers and universities to public and private careers providers – to encourage them to recognise and invest in the professionalism of their careers staff.

Beyond that, we also want to build on our relationships with employer and industry organisations to lift their support for policies that invest in career development for young people and adults.

Finally, we want to reach more general employers to encourage them to invest in career development support for their staff.

Valued by the Public

We will further develop our reach to the general public to not only raise their understanding of career development, but also encourage them to engage with professional support as they go through their careers.

This will primarily be through building our online presence - with content related to career transitions - and through the mainstream media with press releases, comment on news stories and features.

We want the public to recognise how career development professionals – in pubic, employer or private services – can help them achieve their career and life goals.

Valued by Policymakers

Finally, we will build on our constructive relationship with policymakers at all levels of government. Our aim is to be a valued partner, helping them design and implement policy based on an informed view of best practice and the needs of young people and adults.

With the moves towards greater devolution across the Home Nations and to regions in England, we will build local relationships - with and through public careers providers where appropriate - as well as working as part of careers organisations such as the Career Development Policy Group.

Purpose, Vision and Mission

As part of the 2030 Strategy development, we reviewed our Purpose, vision and Mission, to ensure they remained relevant to the coming period while providing continuity. We created a new, simpler Purpose that reflects the two strands of our activities - supporting members and championing the profession. our Vision remains client centred, underlining the importance of the client being at the heart of career development work. The Mission was updated to incorporate the three themes stated in our Objects, ensuring alignment from the governance documents through to the strategy.

CDI Purpose Vision and Mission

Values

The CDI Values have remained unchanged bar some minor word changes. These underpin the strategy and demonstrate the behaviours we strive to embody.

CDI Values